Justice Radzi Harun dismissed the plaintiff’s application to initiate judicial review proceedings against the state government’s decision to lease the 2,167ha of farmland to Royal Pahang Durian Resources PKPP.

He also rejected the application to review the state’s move to sublease the land with the mandatory requirement that durians farmed be sold to a single entity nominated by Royal Pahang Durian Resources.

Radzi ordered the farmers to pay RM600,000 in costs to the respondents, namely the Raub district land administrator, Pahang forestry department director, the state government, state agricultural development corporation and Royal Pahang Durian Resources.

According to Utusan Malaysia, state legal adviser Saiful Edris Zainuddin said the judge ruled that the Pahang government’s actions were not malicious.

He said the court also decided that the applicants were encroaching on the land and had no legal or equitable rights.

The respondents were represented by Saiful and state counsel Dorah Abdul Kadir, Abdul Hafiz Razat and Fatin Nur Syahirah, as well as lawyers Najid Husin, Nurnajihah Nadjemuddin, Brendan Siva, Yazid Mustapha, Cecil Abraham, Sunil Abraham, Nur Muzalifah Shabudin, Irwan Ismail and Yap Jin Weng.

The plaintiffs were represented by lawyers Siew Choon Jern, Chen Chiu Hua and Lim Pit Feng.

Siew said they would be going through the judge’s decision with their clients before deciding whether or not to appeal the decision.

The farmers filed the legal challenge against the Pahang government and other respondents in 2020.

An eviction notice was issued to the farmers on Dec 21, 2020, ordering them to vacate the land by Jan 4, 2021.

The farmers then filed for a judicial review against the state government’s order for them to vacate their farms in various areas covering 2,167ha in Raub, including in Sungai Ruan, Sungai Chalit and Sungai Klau.

Apart from a decision on the order to vacate the land under the National Land Code 1965 and the National Forestry Act 1984, they also sought a ruling on the state government’s alleged decision to lease the 2,167ha of farmland to Royal Pahang Durian Resources.

They also requested a review of the decision to sublease the land and the mandatory requirement to sell durians to a single entity nominated by Royal Pahang Durian Resources.