817 village heads sue Umno-BN govt in Perak

17 Pakatan Rakyat appointed village heads and committee members filed a suit at the Ipoh High Court on Tuesday, seeking a judicial review of their dismissal by the Umno-BN state administration.

Their lawyer, Leong Cheok Keng, filed the suit at 11.45 am on their behalf.

According to the group, they were terminated on April 16 although their terms were only supposed to expire on July 21, 2010.

Present in court this morning were 80 of the village heads, led by Padang Rengas’s Mohd Ridzuan Asit.

They want the court to issue an order quashing their dismissal and re-instatement to their previous posts.

They also want an injunction preventing the Umno-BN administration from appointing others to replace them.

“We also want the court to stop BN from barring others from using the village community halls, and not limited to BN’s use only,” said Mohd Ridzuan.

The group is also also seeking punitive, exemplary and aggravated damages, an investigation into the losses suffered by the village heads and the costs for the action.

Pakatan Rakyat Menteri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin, who appointed most of them, was also present in court.