Forced eviction of the Temuans from Kampong Bukit Tampoi, Selangor (1995) In 1995, the
Selangor State government forcibly evicted the
Temuan community at Kampong Bukit Tampoi,
Selangor, giving them 14 days to leave. Against their will, their houses and plantations were demolished to make space for the new
Nilai–KLIA Highway to
Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). According to the Asian Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Network, the hasty eviction was carried out without due process of negotiation and evaluation, so as to complete the Nilai–KLIA Highway in time for Kuala Lumpur's
1998 Commonwealth Games. of land. The authorities maintained that the Temuan were mere tenants on state land and the State was not required to compensate them. The Temuan landowners were made to accept compensation cheques (for their crops and houses which were demolished) but in protest, all did not cash their cheques immediately – although they did so later based on advice from their lawyers. To further display the existence of a distinctive
Temuan culture associated with the land (
adat tanah), court evidence included details about the Temuans' customary burial (
adat kebumian), their religion or belief system about the ancestor-protector-spirits (the
Moyangs), their community weapon (the blowpipe, or
sumpitan), their tradition of
sekor-menakor, their personal and place-names, their custom on inheritance, their traditional activities and their aboriginal language. The Temuan traditions of ownership were also explained to the court, for example the clearly defined family lots within the communal territory which were demarcated by geographical markers (such as the
pinang palm, other fruit trees, or rivers). It was explained that these boundaries had been fixed by their ancestors, and communally recognised. Part of this evidence included the plotting of customary markers (for example, the Temuan's graves and territorial markers) onto existing survey maps using the
Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment. Archives were also presented to the court to prove the
Orang Asli Affairs Department's (also known as
Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli, or JHEOA) prior recognition of the existence of the Temuan community at Kampong Bukit Tampoi,
Selangor.
The effect of national and international networks of "aboriginal peoples" Source: and the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact.
High Court ruling (2002) On 12 April 2002, the
Shah Alam High Court set a national precedent by ruling that the
Temuan enjoyed
native title rights over their traditional lands and they were to be compensated according to the Land Acquisition Act. The Judge ordered the four defendants (the
Federal government, the
Selangor State government,
LLM and
UEM Group) to pay compensation to the Temuan landowners, and further ordered that
LLM and UEM Group pay damages for trespassing. Significantly, the Judge also ruled that the State had breached a
fiduciary duty, that is, an ethical duty to protect the welfare and native title land rights of the
Orang Asli, and to provide remedies when such rights were infringed. A subsequent appeal was then made to the
Federal Court of Malaysia.
Significance of political shifts The forced acquisition of the land at Kampong Bukit Tampoi,
Selangor, in 1995 took place under the
Barisan Nasional-led State government, which was then sued by the
Temuan plaintiffs. After the Temuans won at the
High Court in 2002, the
Barisan Nasional–led State government appealed the decision – but in 2005, the
Malaysian Court of Appeal affirmed the previous ruling of the
High Court. The
Barisan Nasional-led State government then re-appealed the decision. However, before the appeal could be heard at the
Federal Court of Malaysia, the informal political coalition
Pakatan Rakyat came to power in
Selangor during the
Malaysian general election, 2008. The Pakatan Rakyat–led Selangor State government decided to postpone the appeal at the Federal Court of Malaysia for an internal study of the situation, and it subsequently withdrew the appeal on 22 April 2009, to symbolically recognise
Orang Asli native title land rights. This paved the way for a final settlement for the Temuan plaintiffs.
Final settlement (2010) On 26 May 2010, after negotiations with the
Attorney-General's Chambers, both sides agreed to a settlement of RM6.5 million for the
Temuan plaintiffs. The sum was to be paid by the acquirer of the land,
LLM on its own behalf as well as for the
Federal Government, and
UEM Group. The 26 affected Temuan families were to be compensated based on the size of land taken from them. ==Developments following the
Sagong Tasi case==