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Sagong Tasi & 6 others v State
Government of Selangor and 3 others.
Court of Appeal
Putrajaya
In April 2002, the Shah
Alam High Court declared that 15.39 hectares (38 acres) of land in Kampung
Bukit Tampoi, Dengkil, which was acquired for the construction of Banting-Nilai
highway in 1995, as belonging to seven Temuan Orang Asli.
They had filed a suit
against the Selangor State Government, the Federal Government, the Malaysian
Highway Authority (LLM) and the highway concessionaire, PLUS, to stake their
interest in the said land.
Judge Datuk Wira Noor
Ahmad then declared that the land in question was customary and ancestral land
which the Temuans had occupied for generations and ruled that the Selangor
Government was to pay them adequate compensation, in accordance with the Land
Acquisition Act, for the land taken.
LLM and PLUS were also
to pay damages for trespassing. Furthermore, the Selangor and Federal Governments
were deemed to owe fiduciary duties towards the Temuan-Orang Asli and this had
been breached. Therefore, the Temuans would be entitled to be compensated for
the loss suffered.
This high court decision
has been widely reported in both local and international law journals,
including the esteemed legal database and journal, Legal Records of the
Commonwealth (LRC).
A large group of Orang
Asli are expected to attend the hearing on Monday – as the case has major
implications for the future status of their traditional lands.
As this case is has also
important implications for many other parties within the country and outside,
we hope your organisation will be able to cover the hearing.
Dato Dr. Cyrus Das leads
the team of (pro-bono) lawyers for the Orang Asli litigants, on behalf of the
Bar Council Human Rights Committee. They include Gerald Gomez, Rashid Ismail,
Sharmila Sekaran and Leena Ghosh.
For further information,
please contact:
Lawyers: Gerald
Gomez (012-3089888)
Rashid
Ismail (013-3451895)
Peninsular
Orang Asli Association
(POASM): Majid Suhut
(013-3786838)
Ilam
Senin (019-6211563)
Colin Nicholas
Coordinator
Center for Orang Asli Concerns
(COAC)
Tel: 013-3508058