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Date : 31/10/2012

Media Statement 31/10/2012 (Wednesday)

Re: K.L. Hight Court orders vacant possession of 120 year old Heritage Village Kg Railway Indian Settlement, Sentul to Multi-Billion RM YTL / Sentul Raya.

Kuala Lumpur Hight Court Judge Datin Zabariah binti Yusof today (31/10/12)

allowed the Plaintiff, YTL / Sentul Raya Sdn Bhd’s application for vacant possession of the 120 year old Heritage Village, Kg Railway Indian settlement, Sentul near the Sentul Workshop, the neucleas of the Malayan Railways since the pre independence days. Some 153 Kg Railway defendants some even up to the fifth generation will now be forcibly evicted and the last vestige of the Indian contribution to the setting up in 1885 of the Sentul Railway Workshop and development of the Malayan Railways nationwide from the steam locomotives era what we have today ie the modern the MRT LRT and Commuter train services to.

Some 80% of the Malayan Railway staff at independence are the Indians but their contributions with this High Court decision would now be now wiped out under the UMNO led 1 Malay-sian government policy.

In her brief grounds of Judgment, Datin Zabariah held that as YTL / Sentul Raya are the registered owners by the indefeasilibity of title principle ie by virtue they being the registered owners,they emerge the absolute owners irrespective of how and why they came by to be the owners.

The Court also dismissed the defendants adverse possession equitable right ie occupation of the land when YTL / Sentul Raya had bought the land from KTMB.

The Court therefore held the 153 settlers to be unlawful occupiers and trespassers.Despite lawyer P.Uthayakumar’s submission that there are 100 over witnesses and volumes of historical documents to be tendered in Court at a full trial it was held that there is no triable case and granted Summary Judgment. Why? Justice hurried is Justice buried! Especially so against the vulnerable Indian poor.

The Court also ordered the defendants to pay the total costs of RM7,000.00 to YTL / Sentul Raya. A.Pushpaleela one of the 31 defendants represented by P.Uthayakumar told reporters outside the Courtroom that they would be filing an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Our concern is that of late corporate figures have been “acquiring Railway Land for a song”. Even the Wilayah Land office refused to allow an official search of the 16A Charge forms and the record of transactions, their loan arrangements, the dubious parties involved etc But this is the set of Justice meted out by the Malay-sian Courts today.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

___________

S. Thiagarajan

Youth Chief, Hindraf

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