Durian farmers have no locus standi to file application for judicial review, Court told

KUANTAN: The High Court was today told that the 110 Musang King durian farmers in Raub had no locus standi (legal rights) to file an application for leave for a judicial review against the Pahang government's decision for them to vacate their farms.

Senior federal counsel Noor Fadzila Ishak, representing the six respondents named in the application, said the reason being that farmers concerned were not owners of their farmland nor were they issued temporary occupation licence to use the land as their farms.

As such, they are trespassers or squatter on the land, she added.

She said the farmers also made a mistake in filing the application for a judicial review as they should have filed a notice of appeal against the decision of the land administrator.

"The state government had issued a notice giving about a month for the applicants (farmers) to vacate the land, even though as the owner of the land, they (state government) can can just execute the order,” she said in her submission before judge Datuk Zainal Azman Ab Aziz here today.

Noor Fadzila said the farmers could file for an appeal against the eviction notice, which should be made within three months after the notice was served to them.

As such, there is no need to for the court to grant them permission because the application is baseless, futile and an abuse of the court process, she added.

Meanwhile, lawyer Siew Choon Jern (eng:he) , representing the farmers, submitted that the applicants’ status as squatters should be raised during the substantive hearing of the judicial review application and not at the stage for leave application.

"At this stage, we have shown some merits, so the court should grant the leave because granting the leave does not mean our client has won. It is for us to have a stage to put up all our arguments for the consideration of the judge," he added.

Zainal Azman then set Dec 9 to decide on the leave application and allowed a stay of the eviction order until the same date.

Siew also informed the court that the 110 farmers were among the 111 farmers who had filed the application for leave, but one of them had decided to not proceed with the application.

The farmers filed the application by naming six respondents namely Raub District Land Administrator, Pahang Forestry director, state authorities, Pahang state government, Pahang State Agricultural Development Corporation (PKPP) and Royal Durian Resources PKPP Sdn Bhd.

Apart from the order to vacate the land under the National Land Code 1965 and the National Forestry Act 1984, the applicants also want to obtain a judicial review on the decision of the state government which allegedly gave lease and farm land use right to about 2,167 hectares (5,357 acres) to Royal Pahang Durian Resources PKPP Sdn Bhd.

The applicants also want a review on the decision to sub-lease the land involved to them and the mandatory requirement to sell durians to a single entity nominated by Royal Pahang Durian Resources PKPP Sdn Bhd.

-- BERNAMA