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Broga residents clear second hurdle in court
Claudia Theophilus
May 25, 06 2:33pm
Alice Lee was declared by the Shah Alam High Court late yesterday as
the legitimate representative of Kampung Broga residents in a suit to
stop a RM1.5 billion mammoth incinerator project nearby.
The Attorney-General's Chambers and the Selangor state legal advisor
had contended that she did not have any legal standing in the main
suit filed on Nov 8, 2003, seeking a court declaration for full
disclosure of the project details which has so far remained opaque.
Justice Suriadi Halim Omar, in granting the order in terms, offered a
polite yet firm rebuke of both government lawyers present for failing
to reply the plaintiff's affidavits.
"As far as today's matter is concerned, I follow the law and not based
on my own whims and fancy. I have to grant the order in terms. I'm
going to give the order because you didn't reply," he said to a
courtroom packed with Broga villagers.
Special Branch personnel also sat in court throughout the day although
the Broga matter was only heard for 40 minutes until 5.10pm.
State legal advisor Badariah Hassan and senior federal counsel Suzana
Atan appeared for Selangor Land and Minerals Department director and
the Science, Technology and Environment Ministry director-general
respectively.
Earlier, the residents' lawyer T Uma Parvathy said both parties have
yet to respond to the plaintiff's affidavit which was filed seven
months ago.
This kept Suriadi on their backs asking for reasons why they had not
bothered to reply.
"Why reply some (affidavits) and not the rest? Why didn't you reply?
You must be all-enveloping in your response to the affidavits.
Chose to ignore
Badariah replied that they didn't want to reply because they were
waiting for the outcome of an appeal both had filed that morning
against the deputy registrar's decision on March 24 to dismiss an
earlier application to strike out the main suit.
"But you lost. If there was no case, the matter would have been struck
off," said Suriadi.
"An appeal does not act as a stay, the law is very clear on this."
He chided them for ignoring the affidavits.
"You have to reply all the affidavits, you have to act. You can't just
sit there and do nothing. You can't ignore the plaintiff's affidavits.
What is strange here is that both of you decided not to act."
At this juncture, Suzana argued that additional supporting documents
to prove Lee's legal standing were only filed "as an afterthought to
circumvent our appeal".
Suriadi: Yes, we all see this. We're all professionals here. Now,
we're hearing by affidavit and you have failed to reply, and this
could be deemed as an admission.
Suzana: We cannot reply because we're not a legal entity.
Suriadi: No, you can't say that. Why didn't you react to it
(affidavits). You must be sensitive to every application. You must
understand (this), you are a professional.
Before standing down the Broga case earlier in the day, the judge had
remarked that he may not appear stern or angry but that did not mean
he will not show his dissatisfaction or anger.
Approached later, Suzana said they chose not to reply because it was a
tactic by the plaintiff to circumvent their appeal.
Zarina Begum held a watching brief for the Bar Council.
Controversy-ridden
The federal government project for a 1,500-tonne capacity plant has
drawn international criticism from zero waste management lobbyists and
anti-incinerator scientists who cite potential hazards of toxic
emissions, and economic and environmental problems.
On Feb 14 last year, Broga residents won temporary reprieve when the
court granted an interim stay order on all project work pending the
disposal of a main suit.
However, the interim stay did nothing to stop the Selangor government
from acquiring land from 52 Broga residents to build access roads and
as part of the incinerator plant's perimeter compound.
The government's lack of transparency in this case has prompted
numerous local protests.
The plant, first proposed in 1997, is touted as the biggest of its
kind in the world using Japan's fluidised-bed gasification and
ash-melting technology.
Residents surrounding Broga and in Semenyih have maintained over the
last four years insisted that the plan sits in a water catchment area
where a dam is located, their strongest ground yet.
A global movement is also underway to replace incinerator technology
with green solutions such as recycling and zero waste management which
has a proven record in many rich and poor countries.
In late March 2003, malaysiakini exclusively reported that Japanese
engineering giant Ebara Corp had won the multi-billion ringgit job the
previous month to design, build and commission the plant.
In another exclusive, malaysiakini reported that it was in trouble
with the Malaysian government for allegedly failing to fulfill its
contractual obligations by not detailing its technology transfer plan.
Despite reported problems between the contractor and the project
proponent, the Housing and Local Government Ministry, the status of
the project is unclear because government officials including minister
Ong Ka Ting remain persistently evasive when approached for comments.
Hearing of an application for a fresh stay order pending disposal of
the main suit will continue on July 11.
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