Yudistra Darma Dorai told a press conference that the utilities company was also using loopholes to go around a previous High Court injunction which had prevented it from accessing the area.

“It’s a surreptitious and sneaky way. TNB filed a new action in the Temerloh High Court, without notifying me as the Orang Asli lawyer.

“They went behind our backs and got an ex-parte injunction in May this year to stop the Orang Asli from barring them from entering and doing work on the land,” Yudistra told the press conference at the Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) headquarters Friday.

Yudistra explained that the initial injunction was granted in September 2015 and that all parties had agreed to take the case to the Temerloh High Court.

He added, however, that a TNB lawyer had written to him about a new project in the same area, earlier this year.

“Of course we wrote back, asking for more details about this project and why they entered the area for this project.

“We have also filed an application to dismiss that ex-parte injunction. This is misusing the court process,” he said.

Meanwhile, Pos Lanai action committee chairman Jeffry Hassan said they had been trying to stop the building of the dam since 2013.

“In the 90’s, (former deputy prime minister) Anwar Ibrahim had considered this area to be gazetted as a tourism spot. But that never took off,” he said.

The Telom dam has received the green light from the Pahang State Government and the Energy Commission, but neither the natives nor Department of the Environment were consulted.

It will be the third biggest hydroelectric dam in Peninsular Malaysia, generating 132 megawatts of energy.

It will, however, displace almost 300 indigenous families comprising about 1,500 individuals.