JUDGMENT

Yeoh Wee Siam JCA:

Introduction

[1] This judgment is in respect of the following three appeals heard before us on 28 February 2018, 9-12 July 2018, 13 August 2018, 15 August 2018 and 16 August 2018 arising from Johor Bahru High Court Civil Suit No: 22-2282009 ("Suit 228"):

(1) Appeal No J-02(W)-219-02/2017 filed by Tetuan Khana & Co ("4th defendant") ("Appeal 219");

(2) Appeal No J-02(W)-220-02/2017 filed by Ramlan Bin Adong & 12 others ("Appeal 220");

(3) Appeal No J-02(W)-221-02/2012 filed by Dinesh Kanavaji a/l Kanawagi ("Dinesh") ("Appeal 221").

[2] In this judgment, the parties are referred to as they were in the High Court. However, wherever the context requires, any of the defendants and/or Dinesh would be referred to as "the appellant" or "the appellants".

Background Facts

The Land Acquisition

[3] Sometime in the early 1990s, the Johor State Government acquired 53,000 hectares of land in the Linggui Valley, Kota Tinggi District, Johor for the purposes of construction of a dam pursuant to an agreement with the Government of Singapore ("the Land"). The acquisition of the Land affected mainly three Orang Asli villages, namely;