Judicial review to reclaim land occupied by gov't offices temporarily stayed

The Kuala Lumpur High Court has imposed a temporary stay of Semantan Estates’ judicial review proceedings for the ownership of a 106.7ha plot of land along the former Jalan Duta (now Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim).

Judge Nordin Hassan allowed the stay application by applicant Semantan Estates pending its appeal against the court’s ruling that allowed Kenari Maluri Sdn Bhd to intervene in the matter as a party.

On July 8, The Edge reported that the court allowed the application to intervene by Kenari Maluri, a company which claimed to represent the majority of Semantan Estates’ shareholders in the legal action.

Kenari Maluri alleged that it wished to provide a win-win solution to a pre-Merdeka land dispute over the large tract of prime land in the former Jalan Duta, which is now occupied by various government offices.

The intervener claimed that it is friendly to both the applicant and the seven respondents in the legal action.

The seven respondents are the government, the federal lands commissioner, the minister responsible for federal territory land, the natural resources and environment minister, the lands and mines department director-general, the lands and mines (federal territory) director and the federal territory registrar of titles.

Kenari Maluri’s counsel Edward Ng confirmed the outcome of the hearing of Semantan Estate’s stay application in Nordin’s chambers this morning.

“Semantan Estates has filed an appeal against the intervention order given by the court (on July 8). The matter (judicial review) has been stayed today,” Ng said, adding that the appeal will be heard at the Court of Appeal.

In regards to the reason for Semantan Estate’s stay application, Ng said the reason cited during chamber proceedings today was to prevent the outcome of the appeal from being rendered nugatory (futile or pointless) if the High Court proceedings were to proceed.

“(The plaintiff submitted that) If the (High Court) proceedings are not stayed (while the appeal is ongoing at the Court of Appeal), then the outcome of the appeal would be rendered nugatory,” Ng said.

Applicant Semantan Estates was represented by counsel Janet Chai Pei Ying and Adelin Phung while the respondents were represented by federal counsel V Krishna Priya.

In 2009, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that Semantan Estates retained beneficial interests in the 106.7ha in Mukim Batu, which the government had taken unlawful possession of, and thus making it having trespassed on the land.

The verdict was upheld by the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court.

On May 13, the High Court granted leave to Semantan Estates to proceed with its judicial review that was filed in Feb 2017 on the grounds that the respondents had purportedly failed to comply with the company’s demand to give effect to the court order stated above.

Semantan Estates is seeking a mandamus order to compel the respondents to effect transfer of the land in Mukim Batu to its ownership and free of encumbrances and liabilities as well as issue the land’s document title to Semantan Estates.

The applicant also seeks for the preparation, change, cancellation, deletion, correction or amendment of the land title’s registrar document and to register Semantan Estates as the proprietor of the land as well as return possession of the land to Semantan Estates as the lawful proprietor and owner of the land.

On Nov 22 last year, the Federal court led by then Court of Appeal President Ahmad Maarop dismissed a review application filed by the government, six years after the initial Federal Court decision was made. - Mkini