Reports

NST 27 May 2010 – Orang Asli Win 14-Year Battle 27 May 2010 Ch The Star 27 May 2010 – RM 6.5mil Settlement for Temuans Whose Land Was Taken Away MKini 26 May 2010 – Finally RM6.5mil Compensation for Orang Asli The Star 26 May 2010 – Orang Asli Community to Get RM6.5mil Settlement 26 May 2010 COAC Insider 26 May 2010 – Mahkamah: Pusat Setuju Bayar Orang Asli Pampasan RM6.5juta Insider 26 May 2010 – Orang Asli get RM6.5mil

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New Straits Times Thursday, MAY 27, 2010
Orang Asli win 14-year battle

PUTRAJAYA: Twenty-six families of the Temuan tribe in Dengkil whose land was acquired to build a highway 14 years ago will finally be paid RM6.5 million as compensation.

This landmark settlement was recorded yesterday between seven plaintiffs and the Federal Government which recognises the right of the Orang Asli to their 38 acres of customary land in Kampung Bukit Tampoi, which was taken to build the Nilai-Banting highway. 
Federal Court judges Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria, Tan Sri Richard Malanjum and Datuk Seri James Foong, who recorded the settlement yesterday, were told by senior federal counsel Datuk Kamaludin Md Said that the Federal Government, United Engineers (Malaysia) Bhd (UEM) and Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) were withdrawing their appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision.

THE Court of Appeal had on Sept 19, 2005, upheld the Shah Alam HighCourt’s decision declaring Sagong Tasi and six others- Kachut Tunchit (deceased), 45, Dabat Chabat, 79, Kepal Kepong, 69, Sani Saken, 41, Ilas Senin, 47, and Tok Batin Tukas anak Siam (deceased), 59, – as customary owners of the plot of land in Kampung Bunkit Tampoi.

It affirmed the High Court’s decision that the Orang Asli of the Temuan tribe owned the land under a customary community title of a permanent nature.

Since their constitutional rights had been violated, the court ordered that the Orang Asli be paid the market value as provided for under the Land Acquisition Act 1960.

Yesterday, Kamaludin told the court that the Federal Government, UEM and MHA were withdrawing their appeals on terms.

The terms, which were read out in court, were that the appellants were to withdraw their respective appeal without costs and that MHA was to pay RM6.5 million as full and final settlement within a month from yesterday.

The money, as stated in the terms agreed, was to be deposited with the Shah Alam High Court for disbursement to the respondents and any other individuals who were staying on the land which was taken.

 In 1996, the Temuan tribe, with the help of a team of pro bono lawyers from the Bar Council, took their case to the Shah Alam High Court after their land was acquired to build the highway leading to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

The original defendants included the Selangor government.

In 2002, the High Court ruled that the Orang Asli enjoyed native title rights over their traditional land and that they should be compensated.

The defendants appealed to the Court of Appeal but lost. They then appealed to the Federal Court and were granted leave in 2006.

In April last year, the Selangor government changed hands from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Rakyat, and the new state government pulled out of the appeal, saying that to continue would amount to breaching its promise to recognise the land rights of the indigenous people of Malaysia.

Yesterday, Sagong Tasi, who was present with about 50 tribe members, said they were happy with the settlement news.

“It has been a long time since we began this court battle. Although it is not much when divided among our tribe, it is still something and I am grateful.”

He said he was already old and his health was deteriorating.

“Who knows, maybe I am still not too old to buy a house or get married again with the money,” he added.

 

 

The Star, 27 May, 2010

RM6.5mil settlement for Temuans whose land was taken away

PUTRAJAYA: It took 14 years for 26 orang asli families, who had their land snatched away to make way for a highway, to see justice done — the Federal Court recorded a RM6.5mil landmark settlement.

The apex court ordered the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) yesterday to pay members of the Temuan tribe who were forced to leave their homes when the Nilai-Banting Highway was constructed in 1995.

Although the defendants were the LLM, Government and United Engineers (M) Bhd (UEM), only LLM was required to pay the sum under the terms of settlement.

The highway authority has been ordered to pay the settlement to the Temuan tribe, who were living in the Bukit Tampoi area, when their land was forcibly taken.

Chief Judge of Malaya Justice Arifin Zakaria, who chaired a three-man Bench, noted that the LLM would deposit the sum to the Shah Alam High Court for disbursement of the funds to the orang asli families.

Justice Arifin, who sat with Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Justice Richard Malanjum and Federal Court judge Justice James Foong Cheng Yuen, recorded that LLM would pay the full settlement within a month from yesterday.

The Federal Court noted the terms of agreement supplied by the parties — LLM, the Federal Government and UEM through Senior Federal Counsel Datuk Kamaludin Md Said.

Seven orang asli who initiated the suit could apply directly to the Shah Alam High Court for their compensation. They are Sagong Tasi, Kachut Tunchit, Dabat Anak Chabat, Kepal Anak Kepong, Sani Saken, Ilas Senin and Tukas Anak Siam.

The three appeals filed by the defendants would be withdrawn due to the settlement.

According to the orang asli’s lawyer David D. Mathew, the settlement was made after his clients had agreed to not seek costs and damages awarded by the Shah Alam High Court earlier.

He also said four of the orang asli who were plaintiffs in the suit, had died.

In 1995, a total of 38.47 acres (15.57ha) was acquired from the orang asli in Dengkil without compensation being paid to make way for the construction of the highway.

Thirteen houses were affected apart from the Balai Adat and Balai Raya. The land had also contained oil palm, rubber, fruit trees and other crops.

Some of the orang asli families are living in the areas on both sides of the highway presently.

In April 1996, the Temuans took their case to the Shah Alam High Court with a team of pro bono lawyers from the Bar Council.

On April 12, 2002, the Shah Alam High Court ruled in a landmark decision that the orang asli enjoyed native title rights over their traditional land and that they were to be compensated according to the Land Acquisition Act.

The defendants appealed but lost in the Court of Appeal on Sept 19, 2005.

They then appealed to the Federal Court and obtained leave to appeal on Nov 21, 2006.

On April 22, 2009, the Selangor government, which was initially one of the four parties named by the orang asli in their lawsuit, had changed hands from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Rakyat and the new state government pulled out of the appeal, saying that to continue would breach its promise to recognise the land rights of the orang asli (indigenous peoples) of Malaysia.

Speaking to reporters, Sagong Tasi, 79, said he was relieved and happy over the payment, saying that the matter had dragged on for over a decade.

 

 

MALAYSIAKINI.COM, May 26, 2010

Finally…RM6.5mil compensation for Orang Asli

After a 15-year legal battle, 26 families of a Temuan tribe in Selangor have obtained RM6.5 million in compensation for their native customary land which was seized to build a highway to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

Sagong Tasi, 78, and six others – two of whom have since died – had filed a suit against the Federal Government, the then BN-led Selangor Government, Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) and contractor United Engineers Malaysia Bhd (UEM).

This was after their land was acquired without compensation to build the Nilai-Banting highway that also runs to KLIA in Sepang in January 1995.

The landmark settlement made by the Federal Court this morning also has the effect of recognising the native customary rights of these Orang Asli to the 38-acre site of their former settlement in Bukit Tampoi, Dengkil.

Chief Justice of Malaya Arifin Zakaria, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Richard Malanjum and James Foong, who made up the three-member bench, ordered the sum to be deposited in the Shah Alam High Court within a month from today.

Senior federal counsel Kamaluddin Md Said – who was assisted by senior federal counsel Saifuddin Edris Zainuddin representing the Federal Government – said the other two parties, MHA and UEM, have agreed to withdraw their appeal over the Court of Appeal decision.

“We want the court to record settlement by both parties,” he said. UEM was represented by Harjinder Kaur.

Senior counsel Dr Cyrus Das concurred with the settlement.

He led a panel of lawyers, who included Steven Thiru, Jerald Gomez, Abdul Rashid Ismail and David Matthews, in representing the Temuan tribe.

Selangor legal adviser Zauyah Bte Loth Khan informed the court that the Pakatan Rakyat government had withdrawn its appeal last year.

Following this, the quantum – believed to be under RM200,000 per acre – is to be disbursed by the Shah Alam High Court to the affected parties after MHA pays up.

Landowners, not tenants

Although there are seven plaintiffs including Sagong, the decision affected some 26 families.

Their land planted with fruit trees, oil palm, rubber and other crops, all of which were destroyed along with a community hall.

The other plaintiffs were Kachut Tuncit, Dabat Chabat, Kepal Kepong, Sani Saken, Ilas Senin and Tukas Siam. Two others – Tok Batin Tukas and Kachut – are deceased.

The 15-year deadlock was broken on April 22 last year when the Selangor government – led by Pakatan since March 2008 – pulled out from challenging the suit.

However, the Federal Government and other parties obtained a stay on the court orders.

On April 12, 2002, Shah Alam High Court judge Mohd Noor Ahmad had ordered both the federal and state governments, MHA and UEM to pay damages to the plaintiffs.

He recognised the existence of Orang Asli native (in this case the Temuan) land title in common law and ordered compensation to be assessed according to the Land Acquisition Act 1960. He also ordered MHA and UEM to pay damages for trespassing.

Prior to this landmark judgment, the government had considered the Orang Asli as mere tenants on the land.

The acquisition of their ancestral land is not protected by the Land Acquisition Act, unlike in cases involving private land.

On Sept 9, 2005, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision, determining that the lower court was correct in awarding compensation.

‘Long time coming’

The affected parties thronged the court wearing traditional headgear.

Sagong said the decision has been a long time coming as he and the others had been walking in and out courts all these years to obtain justice.

He said many of them are old and two have passed away.

“They (the authorities) came to claim our ancestral land to build the highway. Three acres of my land, planted with crops, were seized,” he said.

“This land belongs to our ancestors as it has been with us for about 200 years and we felt that we had the right to be compensated.”

Although he was not satisfied with the quantum, Sagong said it is better than nothing.

“The government asked us to accept the sum as it says it had limited funds. We are thankful for this and thank the lawyers involved. It was a long struggle,” he said.

Asked what he would do with the money, Sagong said he would perhaps take 10 wives or build another house.

Exco: Decision made possible by Pakatan

Selangor executive concillor Elizabeth Wong said the Pakatan government’s move in withdrawing its appeal last year had paved the way for the settlement.

“As land is under the state’s purview, we in the Pakatan government respected the High Court and Court of Appeal decisions in recognising it as part of their customary land,” she said.

“It took a year for the remaining parties to discuss the settlement.”

Wong said that, with the court decision and settlement, the Federal Government would have to rethink its current rules and position, and amend the National Land Code.

“There is an effort to amend the Act, which may limit the quantum of compensation for the land, as opposed to what they may have been accorded to if it is native customary land,” she said.

“The decision by the Federal Government to amend the Act should not go against the spirit of the court decision in this case.”

The Orang Asli have, over the past few months, increased pressure on the government to recognize their land rights.

On March 17, the community protested in Putrajaya to amendments in the National Land Code, among others.

Two months later, they handed a memorandum to the Rural Development Ministry over their plight.

 

 

The Star Online, 26 May, 2010

Orang asli community to get RM6.5mil settlement

PUTRAJAYA: After a 15-year legal battle, seven members of the Temuan tribe will receive RM6.5mil from the federal government as compensation for their native customary land which was taken to build a highway to the KL International Airport (KLIA).

In a landmark case, the Federal Court Wednesday recorded a settlement between them and the federal government which recognised the right of the orang asli to their native customary land in Bukit Tampoi, Dengkil.

Their 38-acre land was taken to build a highway to the KLIA in Sepang.

The apex court allowed the settlement to be recorded Wednesday after the federal and the Selangor governments agreed to pay the compensation to Sagong Tasi.

Sagong, 78, and six others of the Temuan tribe had the federal government, the Selangor government, the Malaysian Highway Authority and contractor United Engineers Malaysia Bhd (UEM) to court over the matter.

The deadlock was ended on April 22 last year after the Selangor government pulled out from challenging the suit.—Bernama

 

 

The Malaysian Insider May 26, 2010

Mahkamah: Pusat setuju bayar Orang Asli pampasan RM6.5 juta

PUTRAJAYA, 26 Mei – Selepas 15 tahun, tujuh orang daripada suku Temuan memperoleh pampasan RM6.5 juta daripada kerajaan persekutuan untuk tanah adat yang diambil bagi membina sebuah lebuh raya ke Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA) di Sepang.

Dalam kes bersejarah ini, Mahkamah Persekutuan hari ini mencatatkan satu penyelesaian antara mereka dan kerajaan persekutuan yang mengiktiraf hak Orang Asli terhadap tanah adatnya di Bukit Tampoi, Dengkil.

Sebanyak 38 ekar tanah adat itu telah diambil oleh kerajaan pusat bagi membina sebuah lebuh raya ke KLIA.

Mahkamah itu membenarkan penyelesaian tersebut dicatatkan hari ini setelah kerajaan pusat dan kerajaan Selangor bersetuju membayar pampasan tersebut kepada Sagong Tasi.

Sagong, 78, dan enam yang lain daripada suku Temuan memfailkan saman terhadap kerajaan persekutuan, kerajaan Selangor dan Lembaga Lebuhraya Malayisa (LLM) dan kontraktor United Engineers Malaysia Bhd (UEM) ke mahkamah mengenai perkara itu.

Pada 12 April tahun lepas, kerajaan Selangor menarik diri daripada mencabar kes Sagong. – Bernama

 

 

Malaysian Insider 26 May 2010

Orang Asli get RM6.5m in landmark case

PUTRAJAYA, May 26 — The Federal Court today recorded a RM6.5 million settlement for Orang Asli plaintiffs in a landmark land rights case.

The sum is to be paid by Lembaga Lebuhraya Malaysia (LLM) — on its own behalf as well as that of the Federal Government and United Engineers Malaysia Bhd (UEM) — to the Orang Asli applicants.

The case involved the forcible acquisition of Orang Asli land in Dengkil, Selangor for the construction of the Banting-Nilai highway in 1995. A total of 15.57 hectares were acquired from the Temuan-Orang Asli without compensation. The plaintiffs in the case are Sagong Tasi, Kachut Tunchit, Dabat Chabat, Kepal Kepong, Sani Saken, Illas Senin and Tukas Siam.

In 1996, with the help of a team of pro bono lawyers from the Bar Council, led by Datuk Dr Cyrus Das, the Temuans fought the case in the Shah Alam High Court. The original defendants also included the Selangor government.

In 2002, the High Court ruled that the Orang Asli enjoyed native title rights over their traditional lands and they were to be compensated according to the Land Acquisition Act.  The defendants appealed the decision, but the Court of Appeal in 2005 upheld the ruling of the High Court.

A subsequent appeal was then made to the Federal Court, which granted the defendants leave in 2006.

However, in April 2009, the now Pakatan Rakyat Selangor government pulled out of the Federal Court appeal, in keeping with its promise to recognise the land rights of the Orang Asli .

After negotiations with the Attorney-General’s Chambers, both sides have agreed to a settlement. LLM, as the acquirer of the land will pay cash compensation to the Orang Asli for the land taken, while the Orang Asli lawyers will waive all other costs and damages granted by the court.

As part of the settlement, LLM must deposit the payment of RM6.5 million at the Shah Alam High Court within one month from today.

The 26 families affected by the forcible evacuation can then claim the compensation from Shah Alam High Court, based on the amount of land that was taken from them. Outside the courtroom, Sagong Tasi (right) was delighted and said he was very satisfied with settlement.

“I am really happy after waiting for 14 years. I would not have been satisfied if the case was not settled; now my heart is at peace.

 “I am now old, can’t see and can’t walk comfortably. I am really thin. Now that I have the money, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if I want to buy a new house and maybe marry,” said the 79-year-old man while laughing with the reporters.

Selangor state executive councillor Elizabeth Wong said she hoped the landmark case would make the government reconsider planned amendments to the Orang Asli Act.

 “With this landmark decision, I think the federal government has to rethink its current rules or process to amend the Orang Asli Act.

“Right now, there is an effort to amend the Act which would limit the kind of quantum that would be made [and] the size of land that would be given out as compensation.  

“[This was] opposed to the customary land that they should be accorded to. So the decision of the federal government to amend the Orang Asli Act should not go against the decision of the court in this case,” she said.

 

Reports

NST 27 May 2010 – Orang Asli Win 14-Year Battle 27 May 2010 Ch The Star 27 May 2010 – RM 6.5mil Settlement for Temuans Whose Land Was Taken Away MKini 26 May 2010 – Finally RM6.5mil Compensation for Orang Asli The Star 26 May 2010 – Orang Asli Community to Get RM6.5mil Settlement 26 May 2010 COAC Insider 26 May 2010 – Mahkamah: Pusat Setuju Bayar Orang Asli Pampasan RM6.5juta Insider 26 May 2010 – Orang Asli get RM6.5mil

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