HIGH COURT ORDERS TWO COMPANIES TO VACATE ORANG ASLI CUSTOMARY LAND

IPOH, Sept 9 (Bernama) -- The High Court today ordered two companies constructing a mini hydroelectric dam in Ulu Geruntum, Gopeng, to immediately vacate the Orang Asli customary land and halt the project.

Judge Datuk Bhupindar Singh Gucharan Singh Preet also ordered Perak Hydro Renewable Energy Corporation Sdn Bhd and Conso Hydro R E Sdn Bhd to remove the equipment for the project from the area, granting them an interim stay of 30 days to remove large items such as pipes.

The court also ordered the companies to pay a nominal compensation of RM10,000 for the ruined burial site and another RM10,000 for the damaged trees to the Ulu Geruntum Orang Asli.

The court ordered the companies (the first and second defendants) to pay costs of RM25,000, the Perak state government and the state Land and Mineral director (third and fifth defendants) to pay the same amount, as well as the Orang Asli Development Department director-general and the Malaysian government (the fourth and sixth defendants) to pay another RM25,000.

The judge said the Orang Asli have the right to protect their customary land, which should be gazetted by the state governments, adding that the Perak state government, the Orang Asli Development Department director-general, the Perak Land and Mineral director, as well as the Malaysian government had failed in their duties to prevent encroachments on the land.

Lawyers Vinu Kamalananthan, Conrad Lopez, and Sarah Tiong Wei Shin appeared for the Orang Asli group, and Goik Kenzin, Ramesh Sivakumar, and Calvin Lim represented the companies.

During the proceedings, Ramesh said his clients intend to appeal the decision.

Speaking to reporters outside the court, Vinu said today's ruling was a momentous decision for the Orang Asli, solidifying their fight for their customary land in Ulu Geruntum.

"Today's ruling acknowledges that fact, that there is no more dispute as that region is Orang Asli customary land. So, I think after a six-year arduous journey, I think we have to thank a lot of people including the Tok Batins who support this fight," said Vinu.

In 2018, media reported that 22 Orang Asli settlers of the Semai tribe from Ulu Geruntum filed a lawsuit to stop the dam's construction as it violated their rights to their customary land, claiming that the land was cleared without permission. The group is from six villages in the Ulu Geruntum area: Kampung Sungai Kapor, Kampung Sat, Kampung Ulu Kepayang, Kampung Empang Main, Kampung Poh and Kampung Ulu Geruntum.

The companies started the project in 2012, and the settlers claimed it destroyed fruit orchards and approximately 50 ancestral Orang Asli graves and polluted the water sources.

On Sept 13 last year, the Federal Court granted the Orang Asli settlers a reprieve by halting the construction project.

-- BERNAMA