PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has dismissed an application by the occupants of a century-old Buddhist monastery in Gunung Kanthan to stay their eviction pending the outcome of their application for leave to appeal to the Federal Court next week.
A three-member bench chaired by Justice Azizah Nawawi said there were no special circumstances to warrant the grant of a stay against cement manufacturer Associated Pan Malaysia Cement (APMC).
“APMC has not filed a writ of possession (despite the Court of Appeal allowing its appeal last September),” said Azizah.
Also on the three-member appeals court panel were Justice See Mee Chun and Justice Zaini Mazlan.
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Nahendran Navaratnam appeared for APMC while Ranjit Singh represented the monastery’s occupants.
On Sept 5, the same bench had allowed APMC’s appeal to evict the occupants as the company argued that as registered owners they were entitled to succeed in a summary application for possession.
The occupants are seeking leave to appeal to the apex court on the Court of Appeal ruling. The application will be heard on Feb 28.
The case began in January 2022 when APMC sought a High Court order in Ipoh for the eviction of all squatters from Lot No. 46497 in Hulu Kinta where Gunung Kanthan is located.
Gunung Kanthan is one of the last 12 remaining limestone hills in the Kinta Valley National Geopark and is home to several endangered species of flora and fauna, including bent-toed geckos, snow-white orchids and tiny snails.
About 80% of the hill has already been cleared as quarries.
APMC said in its application that it had leased a 146.4ha plot of land from the state for quarrying activities.
However, the monastery’s management contested the application, contending that the company could only occupy a small portion of the land as the monastery’s monks have resided in and occupied the area for more than 100 years.
The company’s application was dismissed in October 2022 by the then judicial commissioner Bhupindar Singh. He said the monastery had demonstrated that they were not squatters and had a strong arguable defence to the eviction.
He also said there were triable issues as to whether they had occupied the land with the acquiescence of the company and state authorities.
The Court of Appeal overturned his judgment.
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