Thursday, June 26, 2014

Orang Seletar in Dire Straits




The Orang Seletar of southern Johor have been in dire straits for a long time, but especially since the government decided that a growth corridor was needed to spur development to the state that borders Singapore. The Iskandar development zone then came into being and large chunks of land, some reclaimed from the Straits of Johor, were parcelled out to property developers. Included in the parcelling were lands considered customary lands by the Orang Seletar, indeginous to the coastal plains of Johor and once, Singapore.

The Orang Seletar took out a lawsuit against the State Government of Johor, the Federal Government and property developers for damages on their lost of rights over what they claim to be their customary lands.

Court of Appeal dismissed the application by two developers to have the injunction against them squashed yesterday, giving the Orang Seletar of Kampung Sungai Temon and Bakar Batu in Danga Bay, Johor another win in the ongoing court case to secure their rights over their customary territories.

More at CJ.MY.

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