KUANTAN, April 9 (Bernama) -- The Pahang government has denied claims by the Save Musang King Alliance (Samka) that it violated a court order by cutting down about 200 Musang King durian trees in Sungai Klau, Raub, yesterday.
State legal adviser Datuk Seri Saiful Edris Zainuddin clarified that the trees were on illegally occupied land and were not protected under any court order.
"The allegation that the state government acted against a court ruling is false. The Kuantan High Court had already dismissed the farmers' judicial review application regarding the eviction order on April 24, 2024," he said when contacted by Bernama today.
He added that the Court of Appeal had also rejected the farmers’ application for a stay of the eviction order. The rejection, dated July 19, 2024, was due to the applicants not following the correct legal procedure.
“According to the Court of Appeal, they should have first applied for a stay at the High Court under Section 43 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 after their judicial review was dismissed. Instead, they bypassed that step and directly sought a stay from the Court of Appeal, which led to the rejection of their request,” he said.
Saiful Edris stressed that the land in question is legally owned by the state, and the government has the right to take enforcement action against illegal occupants.
"Those who encroach on state land without permission have no legal rights. The state government is within its rights to act and is also prepared to face any legal challenge in court," he said.
A news portal had earlier reported claims by a group of durian farmers that the Pahang government had acted unlawfully by cutting down their durian trees.
On April 24, 2024, the High Court dismissed a judicial review application by 186 Musang King farmers in Raub challenging the Pahang government’s eviction notices.
Following that, on May 28, 2024, the Court of Appeal also dismissed their application to return to the orchards to maintain the durian trees pending their appeal.
On July 19, the same court rejected another application by the farmers seeking to vary the earlier ruling that barred them from entering the farms.
-- BERNAMA
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