PETALING JAYA: A 55-year-old man, an investor of Pahang logging company Seruan Gemilang Makmur Sdn Bhd, has initiated a hunger strike and threatened self-immolation if the state refuses to pay the company the RM70mil awarded by the Kuantan High Court as compensation for a breach of contract.

Gan Ee Seng, from Kota Damansara, had invested RM700,000 with the company to obtain a logging license worth RM10mil to clear 4,047ha of forests in the state.

He was speaking at a press conference here Monday, organised by investors of the company, and said he would be camping out for an indefinite period at a field in Kota Damansara.

Gan's strike follows an eight-day hunger strike last year by 10 directors, investors and shareholders of the firm.

Asked why he chose such a drastic measure, Gan said he wanted justice.

On Dec 9, 2002, Seruan Gemilang filed a suit against the Pahang government and the state forestry director seeking RM31mil in damages for breach of a logging contract relating to the extraction of timber logs from a 4,040ha plot of land belonging to Umno in Bebar, Pekan.

The Kuantan High Court on May 25, 2007 ordered the Pahang government to pay RM37,127,471.60, at 8% interest per annum from Dec 31, 2000.

Subsequently, the Pahang government and state forestry director applied for leave to appeal against the decision, which was rejected by the Court of Appeal.

The Federal Court on Sept 17, 2008 affirmed the Court of Appeal's decision.

The logging firm is now in the process of filing a fresh writ of mandamus, which names the Pahang financial officer Datuk Norzan Ahmad as the respondent to demand the judgment sum from the state government.

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