Justice was the word on the mouths of John Chong and Ramli Suleiman, as they embarked on an indefinite hunger strike "relay" today to press their demand for compensation from the Pahang government over a botched logging deal.

As they settled in on a mattress laid out in front of the Loke Hup temple in Segambut, the pair - both shareholders in logging company Seruan Gemilang Makmur Sdn Bhd - made it clear that they will not eat until the state government pays the millions of ringgit owed to them.

pahang logger hunger strike 080911 "When they refused to pay after such a long time, I thought it was a serious act of injustice. I felt very strongly that this cannot be tolerated," said Chong.

"I have children and a wife. My children are all still in school. This issue has been going on for so long now, and my family's (financial) situation is now critical. When the money is not paid, we suffer," Ramli added.

The pair are part of a group of 10 investors who have pledged to be part of the "relay", taking turns to go on hunger strike in pairs until the Pahang state government pays some RM63 million to Seruan Gemilang Makmur for breach of contract as ordered by the Kuantan High Court.

The protesters will switch places when the current pair are no longer able to continue with the strike, during which time they will consume only water.

pahang logger hunger strike 080911 Chong, 68, and Ramli, 46, are the first of the group to go on the hunger strike, and both men pledged to keep at it regardless of what happens.

Chong, a retired assistant registrar with the Kuala Lumpur High Court, said his decision was not driven by the money owed to him as a shareholder of Seruan Gemilang Makmur, but by the "act of injustice" on the part of the Pahang government in refusing to comply with the court order.

‘It's not about the money'

He said that while he would benefit should the sum be paid as ordered by the court, the bigger issue was for the state administration to take responsibility for its actions.

"One of the principles of the Rukun Negara is to abide by the law. If the authorities don't abide by the law, where do we stand? Our country will be lawless," said Chong, who claimed to have served five years with the Royal Malaysian Air Force during the confrontation period launched by Indonesia against Malaysia.

Ramli, a retired UTK officer who had served as a bodyguard to the Sultan of Pahang for six years, claimed that the way Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob and his administration were shunning their responsibilities was not the way to run a state.

"I am dissatisfied with the MB, who is merely pretending to govern Pahang fairly when he is doing wrong things to the rakyat. How can you govern Pahang if a case like this is not settled?

"There is no need to proclaim 1Malaysia. All Malaysians have their responsibilities, and the MB needs to be responsible. I am willing to fall sick, die... face all the consequences to see this through," said the father of three.

DAP national vice-president Tan Kok Wai, who hosted a press conference on behalf of the protesters, stressed that it is the Pahang state government's statutory duty to pay the amount owed, but acknowledged that the company and its shareholders have already exhausted all legal avenues trying to compel the state government to pay.

Gov't protected against legal action

He said that under the present law, there are no legal provisions allowing action to be taken against the government in cases where it refuses to comply with a court order.

Seruan Gemilang Makmur is at the centre of a logging scandal exposed by Malaysiakini in 2003, where the company claimed it was issued a permit to clear 8,000 acres on the Nenasi plot near Pekan, said to be owned by Umno Pahang.

However, it was later discovered that the land was, in fact, owned by the state government and not the political party, eventually forcing the company to cease operations until the matter was resolved.

Seruan Gemilang Makmur has since filed two suits against the state government and Adnan Yaakob, winning the first round when the High Court in Kuantan ordered the former to pay the company RM37,127,471.61 at eight percent interest per annum from Dec 31, 2000.

In the second suit, the Court of Appeal ruled that the company had wrongly named Adnan as a respondent in a judicial review of the earlier judgement, but upheld that the sum owed to Seruan Gemilang Makmur must still be paid.

VIDEO | 8.36 mins