Farmers told to vacate land
Court orders land to be surrendered within 14 days
IPOH: Having toiled on his farm in Chemor for decades, Wong Seng looked forlorn after being ordered by the Ipoh High Court to vacate the land.
Teary-eyed and trying to remain stoic, Wong Seng, 71, said he felt that farmers like him should have been protected and not be chased out from their farms.
Wong, whose family is believed to have worked on the farm for about 60 years, said he was at a loss.
“We plant vegetables and corn on a small scale. Why are they doing this to us?
“If all farmers were chased out because of development, who will produce food? What will the people eat?” he asked.
“Asking us to vacate our land that we have worked on for generations within 14 days, I have no idea what to do now,” Wong told reporters when met outside the courtroom yesterday.
Wong, together with Choo Boo Leong and Yap Yew Keen, were ordered by Justice Datuk Hashim Hamzah to surrender the land to its rightful owner Syarikat Bukit Aneka Sdn Bhd within 14 days and to pay them a total of RM3,000 in cost.
The proceedings were held in chambers.
Lawyer Chong Kok Yew, who represented the plaintiff, said the farmers were unlawfully occupying the land as squatters.
“They have been ordered to move out within 14 days,” he said.
It was reported that the farmers were told to move out in August last year to make way for a housing project.
The farmers had also appealed to
Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu to step in and stop the developer from taking away agricultural land for the project.
Representing the farmers were lawyers K. Kunasekaran and Chiang Lek Choi who said they would file a stay on the order.
“While waiting for the ground of judgment, we will file for a stay of execution,” said Kunasekaran.
“An appeal notice will be filed to the Court of Appeal in the next 30 days as there are some issues that need to be discussed regarding the application.
“We will continue to defend the farmers and take it up to the Federal Court if need be.
“We also hope the state government would come around and settle this issue,” he said, adding that two memorandums had been sent to Faizal’s office on the matter.
“The farmers received various certifications and were acknowledged by the state government.
“The only thing they did not get was the ownership of the land,” he added.