'No money': Orang Asli plead with AG to cancel RM9k legal costs
Orang Asli activists from Pos Lanai, Pahang have appealed to attorney-general Tommy Thomas to absolve them from paying RM9,000 in legal costs as they cannot afford to.
The Temerloh High Court previously ordered the activists to pay the sum for withdrawing their suit against Tenaga Nasional Berhad, the Orang Asli Development Department, as well as the Pahang and federal governments in relation to the Telom Dam project.
Today, activists Jeffry Hassan and Yunus Seben urged Thomas to cancel the costs...
Orang Asli activists from Pos Lanai, Pahang have appealed to attorney-general Tommy Thomas to absolve them from paying RM9,000 in legal costs as they cannot afford to.
The Temerloh High Court previously ordered the activists to pay the sum for withdrawing their suit against Tenaga Nasional Berhad, the Orang Asli Development Department, as well as the Pahang and federal governments in relation to the Telom Dam project.
Today, activists Jeffry Hassan and Yunus Seben urged Thomas to cancel the costs, and contended that their struggle against the dam was genuine despite the withdrawal.
They had told the media that the costs amounted to RM12,000, but later clarified that the sum was RM9,000.
“We ask that the costs be cancelled, because we Orang Asli do not have the money to pay it.
“We opposed the (dam) project not to reap profit, but we wanted to ensure our source of living," Jeffry (photo) told reporters before submitting a letter of request to Attorney-General's Chambers officer Wasri Ahmad Sujani.
“If the dam project is built, we will have nothing – no source of livelihood, no land, and our ancestral burial grounds will be gone," he added.
In the letter sighted by Malaysiakini, the activists explained that they had decided to withdraw the suit because they disagreed with the court’s decision to transfer the case from the Kuala Lumpur High Court to Temerloh.
In May 2015, the Orang Asli filed an injunction to prevent TNB from starting work on Telom Dam. They also challenged the acquisition of the land for the dam project, arguing that it was unlawful.
They were granted an injunction by the Kuala Lumpur High Court four months later.
In 2016, TNB managed to obtain another injunction from the Temerloh High Court, this time to bar the Orang Asli from entering the land in question.
Harapan must decide on dam
Accompanying the activists today was PSM secretary-general A Sivarajan, who urged the Pakatan Harapan government to state its stand on the Telom Dam project.
This is especially in light of the impending Cameron Highlands by-election, which Pos Lanai villagers will be voting in.
“The government should make a stand on the dam project before polling day.
"What is your stand on this? This is going to destroy their tanah adat (ancestral land).
“The second thing is more immediate, please do not burden those who are protesting (against the dam) with such costs,” he said.
The Election Commission previously announced that polling day for the by-election will be on Jan 26, with nomination on Jan 12.
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