KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 — A total of 65 Orang Asli from the Jakun tribe succeeded in setting aside a court order issued in 2023 regarding the sale of 57 condominium units at Lanai Gurney, Keramat, which belonged to the Linggiu Valley Orang Asli (Jakuns) Trust Fund.
This followed a decision by High Court Judicial Commissioner Gan Techiong yesterday in allowing the originating summons filed by the Orang Asli against RHB Trustees Berhad, which is the trustee of the trust fund.
The court also ordered that any sale and transfer of the 57 condominium units held under strata title must be sold at market value and through an open tender or public auction.
In addition, the court ordered that the sale and transfer of the condominium units be handled by independent consultants, including lawyers, valuers and estate agents.
Lawyer Rabia Abd Halim, assisted by lawyer Siti Zabedah Kasim, who represented the Orang Asli, confirmed the decision when contacted.
In the originating summons filed on July 16 last year, the Orang Asli applied to set aside the order on the grounds that RHB Trustees Berhad refused, was negligent and failed to inform them about the sale of the condominium units and that consent was not obtained from them.
The Orang Asli said that the sale order, dated June 20, 2023, for the sale of the 57 condominium units was not made fairly, and there was an element of injustice to them.
According to the applicants, based on the property valuation report, the aggregate market price was RM17.1 million.
However, they claimed that there was an agreement between the trustee and the real estate agent that the sale price be increased to RM19 million but only RM12 million was given to the trust fund while RM7 million would be for renovation costs.
“The remaining RM7 million was given to the real estate agent ostensibly to renovate the property, but instead it was an attempt to deprive the Orang Asli of their rights,” the applicants said in the grounds of application.
They said the sale of the condominium units should be conducted through a public auction or open tender and regulated by the court, instead of a private property agent, since the condominiums belong to Jakuns for the benefit of the Orang Asli. — Bernama