Law & Behold #51: The Taman Rimba Kiara Case & Our Right to a Sustainable Environment

Just last month, the Federal Court delivered its decision on the Taman Rimba Kiara case, where the panel of judges unanimously decided that the development order obtained in 2017 by the joint venture of Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan and Developer Memang Perkasa Sdn Bhd for the Taman Rimba Kiara project was null and void. This decision is a landmark victory for all those who fought to preserve Taman Rimba Kiara, a much loved public space and green lung in the Klang Valley. We discuss the outcome of the legal case and how the landmark ruling will impact other public litigation cases in the country with two lawyers - Abraham Au, a Constitutional Lawyer with Messers G.S. Nijar, who appeared for the residents, and Kiu Jia Yaw, the Co-Deputy Chair of the Bar Council Environment & Climate Change Committee and the co-chair of the Malaysian CSO-SDG Alliance. On a broader scale, taking into account that Malaysia does not have an explicit recognition of environmental rights in our Constitution, we also discuss whether we should push for an amendment of our Federal Constitution to expressly recognise access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, as a fundamental right.

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