MOHD NOOR AHMAD J:

(1) : The plaintiffs sue in a representative capacity in respect of themselves and on behalf of each and every member of their respective families. The second and sixth plaintiffs died and were properly substituted by their respective daughters. The suit was filed as the result of a dispute that arose out of the eviction of the plaintiffs and their respective families from 38.477 acres of land situated at Kampong Bukit Tampoi, Dengkil, Selangor (‘the land’). In March 1996, the land was acquired for the purpose of the construction of a portion of the highway to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The land was in the shape of a strip running through a gazetted aboriginal reserve under the Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954 (‘the Act’) and also land customarily occupied by the orang asli and, therefore classified as an aboriginal area or an aboriginal inhabited place under the Act. In the context of the purpose of the acquisition of the land, the first defendant (the Selangor State Government) is the acquiring authority which acquired the land through the Sepang District Office. The fourth defendant (the Federal Government) is the decision maker to undertake the con