KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 — Shareholders of a logging company embarked on a relay hunger strike today to compel the Pahang government to pay some RM70 million in damages awarded to it by a court.
John Chong, 70, and Ramli Sulaiman, 46, two of 10 shareholders and directors of Kuantan-based Seruan Gemilang Makmur Sdn Bhd, began their water-only fast at the Six Harmonies Temple in Segambut here at 10am to highlight what they said was defiance of the law by the state government.
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” he told reporters.
“Our country is a country of law. One of the principles of Rukunegara is we abide by the law.”
Ramli, 46, similarly said he was willing to continue the hunger strike even if it led to “death, sickness or other things” as he was fed up with Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob’s attitude and poor governance.
“Because of one MB like this, Pahang’s name has been dragged into the mud,” he said.
The former Special Action Unit (UTK) member and Sultan of Pahang bodyguard urged Adnan to step down and to let others with more integrity govern the state.
Lee Sin, 60, another shareholder and manager, said they decided to hold the hunger strike in Kuala Lumpur and not Kuantan as they wanted better media coverage of the event.
Seruan Gemilang was awarded RM37,127,471.60 in damages with eight per cent interest per annum from December 31, 2000 by the Kuantan High Court on May 25, 2007 after it won a breach of contract suit against the Pahang government and the state forestry director.
The state government and the state Forestry Department were found to have breached a logging concession contract concerning the extraction of timber logs from a 10,000-acre plot of Umno-owned land in Mukim Bebar, Pekan district.
The award was retained as the Federal Court denied the state government’s application for leave to appeal against the May 2007 decision.
Seruan Gemilang then obtained a mandamus order from the Kuantan High Court to compel the mentri besar to settle the amount after its attempt to demand for the judgment sum with interest was unsuccessful.
However, on October 9, 2009, the mentri besar succeeded in his appeal at the Court of Appeal to set aside the mandamus order, prompting Seruan Gemilang to file for leave to appeal to the Federal Court.
The Court of Appeal, in reversing the High Court’s decision, had ruled that Seruan Gemilang had wrongly named the mentri besar as the respondent in the judicial review proceeding in the High Court to demand for the judgment sum from the state government.
Instead, it ruled that the state financial officer should be named as the party in an application for a mandamus order.
DAP party lawyer Eric Tan said today there was no way to enforce the High Court’s original judgement as Order 73, Rule 12 of the Rules of the High Court 1980 stipulated that no procedures with regard to the execution of judgement are applicable to any order against federal or state governments.
“The hunger strike shows how helpless citizens would be if not protected by the law,” he said.
DAP vice-chairman Tan Kok Wai urged the Pahang government to pay damages owed to the company or risk souring investor sentiment.
“Shame on the state government... There will be very negative perception on the state government locally and by foreigners.
“No wonder recently we don’t see much investment in Pahang... only rare earth and cyanide,” he said, in reference to the Gebeng Lynas plant and the Raub CIL plant.
Segambut MP and lawyer Lim Lip Eng added that he would visit Chong and Ramli every day to keep an eye on them and to assist them if they are harassed by the police.
