The Court of Appeal today unanimously dismissed a suit filed by a former headman of a Temuan tribe in Kuala Langat to declare 17,900 acres of land to be Aborogines Reserve Settlement.

This came with the three-member bench upholding the decision of the High Court in Shah Alam that Tok Batin Malam anak Gerchang, 72, and his two children do not have the locus standi (legal standing) to initiate the suit against the Selangor government and three others.

The bench led by Justice Mohd Zawawi Mohd Salleh ruled that based on the evidence, the court unanimously rules that the plaintiffs do not have the locus to initiate the case on behalf of the community.

“There is no error in the Shah Alam High Court judgment. Despite this, we would like to express our sympathies to the plaintiffs as we have to reject the appeal based on the facts of the case,” Justice Mohd Zawawi said.

The other judges were Justice Varghese George Varughese and Justice Abdul Rahman Sebli.

The panel also ordered Malam and the others to pay RM10,000 as costs.

The issue in question was whether Malam anak Gerchang is still the Tok Batin of the Tanjung Duabelas Temuan Orang Asli, as his successor, Batin Manja, had not undergone the traditional rituals to take over as Tok Batin.

Malam, along with his two sons Dewi Malam and Jafrin Malam, had in 2011 filed the suit and named the Selangor government, Kuala Langat District Office, Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd, Selangor Land and Mines Department and the Selangor authorities as defendants.

The High Court in Shah Alam dismissed their suit on Feb 17 last year.

Despite today's decision, the lawyers for the Orang Asli, led by Mohd Haniff Khatri Abdulla (photo), indicated that they would appeal the matter in the Federal Court.

“Basically, following the decision today, the case is over. However, we received instructions to appeal the case,” Haniff told reporters after the proceedings.

He submitted that Batin Manja had acknowledged that Malam was initiating the suit on behalf of the community, and that he had also agreed to the action and that the witness himself agreed that his (Batin Manja’s) appointment was not valid as he had not undergone the usual rituals before the appointment.

However, Selangor legal adviser Nik Suhaimi Nik Sulaiman said Malam had resigned as Tok Batin in 2005, by way of a letter he had written. Furthermore, Batin Manja's appointment was recognised by the Selangor government, via a letter issued to him.