31/03/2017 (The Star Online) - A total of 372 settlers in two Felda schemes who filed a suit against the authority and its subsidiary over palm oil extraction rates will have to pay RM472,000 in costs after losing their case in two courts.

On June 27, 2015, then Seremban High Court judge Justice Zabariah Mohd Yusof directed the settlers to pay RM1,000 each to Felda and Felda Palm Industries Sdn Bhd.

Court of Appeal judge Justice Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim ordered the settlers from the Serting Hilir and Raja Alias schemes in Negri Sembilan to pay a "global sum" of RM100,000 in cost to the two defendants.

The court granted the cost after Felda and Felda Palm Industries counsel Mohd Hafarizam Harun submitted that various complex issues were rebutted and voluminous documents tendered in the three-day hearing.

Counsel for the settlers R. Sivarasa asked for RM10,000 in cost, saying that there were occasions when the court only sat for a half a day to hear the matter.

In dismissing the settlers' appeal on Friday, Justice Zamani A. Rahim, who read out the 29-page judgment, said there was no appealable error committed by the trial judge which warranted the appellate intervention.

He said they agreed with the trial judge that there was no merit to the issue raised by the settlers.

"We now dismiss the appeal with cost," he said.

Also on the panel was Justice Zaleha Yusof.

Sivarasa said he would study the judgment before deciding on whether or not to file an appeal.

About 30 settlers turned up in court to hear the verdict.

Justice Zabariah had dismissed the settlers' RM200mil suit against Felda and its subsidiary on the grounds that the plaintiffs have no locus standi to initiate the lawsuit.

She made the ruling after they failed to prove that each plaintiff had sold ripe oil palm bunches to Felda Palm Industries.

The judge had ruled as baseless the allegation that there was fraud in the oil extraction between 1995 and September 1998 before the direct purchase system was introduced.

On Aug 9, 2010, 766 settlers filed the civil suit against the two defendants, claiming fraud and breach of trust to the tune of RM200mil.

However, only 372 of them remained in the suit as some of the settlers withdrew and some had passed away.