Orang Asli Seek Contempt Order Against Developers Kelantan Govt

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Orang Asli villager Ahak Uda (centre) is one of three people seeking court action over encroachment into their ancestral lands. He is flanked by lawyers Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Singh Sohanpal.PETALING JAYA: Three Orang Asli villagers from Gua Musang who filed a suit against the Kelantan government and 13 others over encroachment into their ancestral land are to apply for contempt proceedings against the defendants for allegedly disobeying a court ruling.
The villagers’ lawyer, Rajesh Nagarajan, said the Kelantan state authorities and the encroaching parties had not complied with a March 18 ruling in which the Kota Bharu High Court ordered the defendants to stop all work on the villagers’ land with immediate effect.
“We only found out yesterday about this and we will be filing contempt proceedings on an urgent basis,” he told FMT when asked to comment about an inter partes hearing this morning before judicial commissioner Mohamad Abazafree Mohd Abbas.
On March 18, the three villagers – Ahak Uda, 54, Aziz Angah, 33, and Anjang Uda, 30 – filed a suit on behalf of 200 families in two Orang Asli settlements in the Gua Musang district and obtained an injunction to stop all work on their land with immediate effect.
The plaintiffs claimed that their ancestral land had been used for logging, planting of oil palm, rubber trees and mining of ores and that these activities had affected their livelihood and ability to seek sustenance.
The plaintiffs named Syarikat Perlombongan Gua Musang Sdn Bhd, Redstar Capital Sdn Bhd, Aqua Orion Sdn Bhd, Damai Corporate Services Sdn Bhd, Sindiyan Sdn Bhd, and Sindiyan Agro Park Sdn Bhd as the first to sixth defendants, respectively.
Ladang Kelantan Sdn Bhd, Ikrar Bumi Sdn Bhd, Ladang Ulu Nenggiri Sdn Bhd, Iliasco Engineering & Construction Sdn Bhd, Kelantan Lands and Mines Department, Kelantan Forestry Department, Orang Asli Development Department and the Kelantan state government were named as the seventh to 14th defendants.
During the hearing today, Rajesh said counsel for the Orang Asli villagers submitted various legal arguments for the injunction. A court decision is expected on August 29. - FMT

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