He must now wait until Nov 28 to know when he can receive his dues.

The former DAP assemblyman had brought the Manjung land administrator to court in 2017 for offering him RM159,565 to acquire a 1.18ha plot of land, a rate he felt was far too low for an area that had become increasingly urbanised.

The Manjung district land office had acquired the said plot for a road-widening and junction project by JKR.

The High Court in Ipoh ruled in Ramasamy’s favour in 2020, awarding him an additional RM33,711.55 in compensation plus interest.

Five years on, Ramasamy said he has not received the additional awarded sum, forcing him, through lawyer Shamsher Singh Thind, to apply for enforcement earlier this year under the Government Proceedings Act 1956.

In September, the case was finally settled by consent, where Ramasamy would be given an additional payment of RM33,711.55 plus RM11,939.50 in reduced interest and RM1,000 in costs.

However, at an e-review hearing yesterday concerning the payment, a government lawyer said JKR did not pay Ramasamy because of lack of funds.

Senior federal counsel Fitri Sadarudin said Perak JKR had not made the payment because its budget had been exhausted.

“A request for additional funding is difficult to make because of time constraints arising from the year-end closing of government accounts,” he said.

He said the delay was not deliberate and Perak JKR remained committed to settling the case early next year.

Deputy registrar Nur Faizah Saleh, who presided over the e-review, set Nov 28 for mention before Justice Moses Susayan at the High Court in Ipoh.

Ramasamy said the “excuse by the government is unacceptable”.

“It has been more than five years. This is a court order. The land office acquired the land, so it must pay. Their internal arrangements with JKR are none of my concern,” he said in an immediate comment.