The Malaysian Insight

THE Mah Meri community in Bagan Lalang, Sepang, Selangor will be filing a civil suit to get the land that they are living on to be gazetted as native customary land.

Lawyer Surendra Ananth who is representing the Orang Asli group said they have decided to file for a civil action after a judicial review filed in July was struck out by the court.

“Right now, instead of appealing (the court’s decision on the judicial review), we are going to file a civil suit,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“There is no action in court at the moment. We hope to file the suit by the end of December.”

The Orang Asli will be filing the action against nine parties.

They are Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd (PNSB), Mangrove Lifestyle Sdn Bhd, Mandira Persada Sdn Bhd, the Selangor state government, the Orang Asli Affairs Department (Jakoa) and its director, Selangor state director general of lands and mines, the ministry of rural development and the government of Malaysia.

“The Orang Ali are filing the suit to get an order that the land is their customary native land and compel the state to gazette it,” Surendra said.

“Some parts of the land have also been transferred to PNSB. We want to strike out the transfer, and, in the event they fail to do so, the Orang Asli ought to be paid compensation.”

Mangrove Lifestyle Sdn Bhd holds the title and a 99-year lease on 41ha of land registered as HSD 18372, Lot PT 5249.

Mandira Persada Sdn Bhd holds the title and 99-year lease on 24ha of land registered as HSD 18372, Lot PT 5249.

Meanwhile, PNSB holds the title and a 99-year lease on 2.83ha of land registered as HSD 37248, Lot PT 9925.

On April 20, 36 villagers were served with an eviction notice and given until May 20 to vacate.

They had appealed to the land office and PNSB for an extension to the deadline, citing the pandemic as one of the reasons. However, no formal extension has been offered to them.

The Orang Asli were asked to vacate to make way for a development plan under the Sepang Gold Coast development project.

Although the villagers were not told what the plan for the land was, PNSB said the company is looking to develop it into a tourist destination.

The village is a brief walk from the sandy beach that faces the Straits of Malacca, while the Avani Sepang Gold Coast Resort is a short distance away.

According to its website, the Sepang Gold Coast development project has an estimated gross development value of RM1 billion.

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In May, the villagers met with the Bar Council’s committee on Orang Asli rights to get a better understanding of their land rights.

Following the meeting, the villagers decided to take legal action to protect the land they were living on.

Failed judicial review application

On July 19, Surendra had filed a judicial review application at the Kuala Lumpur High court to get an order to gazette the land as the Mah Meri’s native customary land, but it failed.

“We filed a judicial review against the state government and a few departments as well as PNSB and its subsidiaries that hold the lease on some parts of the land.

“The first hearing was on August 30, to get leave for the suit to be heard. Usually it is straightforward, but in this case the Attorney-General Chamber’s objected to the judicial review saying that it should have been filed as a civil suit.

“In October, the judge agreed with the AGC, and said it should have been filed as a civil claim.”

The judicial review application, which was sighted by The Malaysian Insight claims that the land has been used by the Mah Mari as a settlement, for farming, foraging, hunting and fishing even before the British colonial period.

While the judicial review application was pending, the judge had given an interim stay until August 30 to prevent any actions on the land pending the hearing, Ananth said.

Now, however, he said there is nothing preventing the various parties from evicting the Orang Asli from the land.

Khairul Asmar, the spokesperson for the villagers told The Malaysian Insight that at the moment, the villagers have stayed put where they are.

“We are still staying here. There are no plans to dismantle the homes or move elsewhere.”

When asked if the villagers had faced any harassment from the developers of the land, Khairul said no one had come to see them since the eviction notice was put up in April. – November 22, 2021.