KUALA LUMPUR – An eviction case between Associated Pan Malaysia Cement Sdn Bhd (APMC) and the Sakyamuni Caves Monastery faces delays due to movement restrictions under the National Recovery Plan (NRP).
The Buddhist temple is located on Gunung Kanthan in Kinta, Perak, which is under NRP’s Phase 2 that prohibits inter-district and interstate travel.
Lee Jia Mian, a lawyer for the monastery, told The Vibes that she is unable to file the necessary court documents and applications due to the movement curbs.
“This is why we are seeking for the court to grant us an extension.
“We are also unable to access the monastery now to get the documents we need.”
Following court documents sighted by The Vibes, APMC filed an objection at the Ipoh High Court on July 8.
The objection, filed via a letter issued by legal firm LAW Partnership, states that four months have passed since the originating summons that initiated the case was filed in court, and there has been no development related to the court proceedings.
The letter said the law firm representing the defendant, Magnus & Han, was given two extensions over two months since case management was fixed for May 17 to allow the filing of the necessary applications.
“The last date for any filing was supposed to be July 12,” said the letter.
Based on the high court’s cause list, case management was set for July 12.
“The defendant was given multiple opportunities and time extensions by the court since the start of this proceeding,” added the letter.
“We were also informed by our client that the defendant or parties supposedly representing them were able to contact the media regarding this action. It seems that they are also capable of giving instructions to their lawyers to move this case.”
APMC filed an Order 89 application at the high court seeking the eviction of squatters from Lot No. 46497 in Hulu Kinta. Given that it is an eviction application, the squatters are not specifically named as defendants.
However, Lee on May 31 confirmed to The Vibes that the monastery is indeed an inhabitant of the land.
She said the house of worship is also in the process of filing an application to be named a party to the case.
APMC, a subsidiary of YTL Cement Bhd, on June 5 said it is committed to preserving and protecting Gua Kanthan, situated in the Gunung Kanthan limestone hill.
However, the firm said its gestures of goodwill towards the monastery did not elicit a response, prompting it to take legal action.
APMC reasoned that limestone hills are reactive to water and weak acids, and there have been occurrences of limestone landslides.
On June 22, former Malaysian Cave and Karst Conservancy president Hymeir Kamarudin told a webinar that buildings on limestone hills may pose a problem to the structure of such natural environments, but did not rule out that temples also play a key role in preserving these hills.
He recommended that temples already on limestone hills be allowed to remain, but the building of new ones should be prohibited. – The Vibes, July 19, 2021
