On September 19, the Malaysian Court of Appeal upheld the High Court's 2002 ruling that the Temuan tribe is the customary owner of a 15.39 hectare plot of land (approximately 40 acres) located south of the nation's capital, Kuala Lumpur. As reported by ABC Radio Australia and New Strait Times, the Temuan had been forcibly evicted in 1995 by the Federal Government, the Selangor State Government, the Malaysian Highway Authority, and the engineering firm United Engineers in order to build a highway to the new Kuala Lumpur international airport. The Temuan people living on this land were forcibly evicted and their homes and meeting places were destroyed.
ABC Radio Australia explains that the High Court decision required the Selangor government to pay compensation to the evicted families for land confiscation, and the highway authority and United Engineers to pay damages for trespass. According to the New Strait Times, the appellate court also approved the awarding of unspecified "exemplary damages."
