Guthrie Stunned Never have these and probably other estate workers been accorded so much understanding and consideration by the court. Kuala Lumpur, 14 July 2003
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Guthrie�s ongoing series of legal onslaughts against its former workers took an unexpected turn today when the Appeals Court granted a stay of execution for vacant possession to seven retrenched workers of Changkat Salak Estate. The chief judge ruled that there were special circumstances - the need for shelter until the appeal is heard - to grant a stay of the High Court order. On 4 June 2003, at the Ipoh High Court, Justice Embong ruled in favour of Guthrie by giving them a summary judgment under Order 14 and an injunction restraining workers from continuing to occupy the housing quarters in Changkat Salak Estate in Sungai Siput. An appeal for a stay by the defendants was turned down, but the Judge gave six weeks (expiring on 16 July 2003) for the injunction to take effect. Following this, the workers filed an appeal at the Appeals Court, and put in an urgent application for an ex-parte hearing for stay of execution pending the appeal. Today was 14 July. In three days� time, their homes would be demolished. The estate workers had an initial setback when their experienced counsel, Datuk Dominic Puthuchery, could not attend court, leaving the case in the hands of the young but capable lawyer M.Vengkat. Then came the bigger problem: Skrine & Co. Though the matter was an ex-parte application, Guthrie�s legal eagles, Skrine & Co, swooped into the Appeals Court with panache, set to turn the ex-parte into an inter-parte hearing and walk away with yet another victory. This has indeed been the trend over the past two years, with Skrine winning again and again in the courts, using various loopholes and tactics resulting in the demolition of workers� quarters and in the brutal eviction of retrenched workers from Guthrie�s Bukit Jelutong Estate. Today, not only did Guthrie s lawyers lose but they also received a hard and stunning lesson on natural justice and humanity. From the moment Guthrie�s lawyer began speaking, Datuk Wira Hj Mohd Noor the chief Appeals Court judge who sat with Datin Paduka Rahmah and Datuk Wira Hj Mohd Ghazali, began a lesson on respect for poor workers and the right to shelter. It was a delightful day for the workers who had until now seen nothing but insensitivity and contempt at the Ipoh High Court.
As the lawyer began presenting his arguments again, the judge stopped him to ask if the workers could hear him. The workers shook their heads, thus prompting the judge to ask the lawyer to speak louder. He stopped the lawyer a second time, and asked if he could be heard, and again the workers signaled that they could not. Finally the judge told the lawyer, � Speak as loudly as you can, short of shouting at us.�(!) He also made a special request that the seven plaintiffs be seated in the front row to enable them to follow the proceedings. Never have these and probably other estate workers been accorded so much understanding and consideration by the court. But the high point of today�s hearing was when Guthrie�s lawyer passed a document to the judges reminding them of the special circumstances needed to grant a stay of execution from a High Court order. The Skrine lawyer pointed out that the workers� demands were linked to the quantum of compensation and housing and had nothing to do with their quarters; there were no special circumstances in this case to grant them a stay. He reiterated that these seven workers were former workers who were reluctant to leave their quarters, which were needed for other workers. He also pointed out that the High Court of Ipoh had already given them a 6-week vacant possession order. According to Guthrie�s lawyer, the workers had no rights as they had been offered due compensation and asked to leave the estate. But the quantum of compensation itself was in dispute and the workers had not been allowed an open trial at the Ipoh High Court to hear this as well as equity arguments for housing. The judge who seemed familiar with the workers� affidavit retorted, �Leave and go where? Live on trees? Or cow sheds? Or you�ve got hotels for them?� The photos of blocks of unoccupied quarters that had been earlier demolished had been included in the affidavit, leaving the judge unconvinced of Guthrie�s argument that the seven ex-workers needed to vacate their quarters to make way for other workers. Clearly stunned by the judge�s reasoning, the Skrine lawyer, pointed out a technical flaw in the plaintiff�s affidavit, saying that there is no mention of the special circumstances. �That is common sense!� the judge said impatiently, adding that the issue here is not just quarters and buildings, but people, human beings. As a last ditch attempt, Guthrie�s lawyer said that even if the workers won in the end, they would still have to leave the quarters, to which the judge replied, �At the end of the day, if they win they go out loaded; now they go with empty stomachs.� The veteran Skrine lawyer sank to his seat, defeated by three judges who chose to be guided by the spirit of the law and natural justice. A unanimous decision to grant a stay was made. Today�s case is a resounding victory for Changkat Salak Estate workers. It is a bright day for the judiciary, reminding us that there are still some decent judges around. And it is a blow in the face for Guthrie, the inhuman and arrogant plantation giant. Now e-mail us and tell us what you think. | ||||||||||||||||||
�Leave and go where? Live on trees? Or cow sheds? Or you�ve got hotels for them?�
