Raja Daud’s descendant fails in Sungai Raya land appeal

 

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal in a dispute over land ceded by the sultan of Selangor in the 19th century in exchange for Kuala Langat.

PUTRAJAYA: 

The Court of Appeal has dismissed a claim by a descendant of Raja Daud Raja Husin to ownership of land known as Sungai Raya in Port Dickson purportedly gifted by the sultan of Selangor in 1872.

Justice Azhahari Kamal Ramli, who delivered the unanimous ruling of a three-member bench, said the High Court had not committed any error in its decision.

“There is no merit in this appeal. We affirm the decision of the High Court,” he said, when delivering the unanimous verdict of a three-member appeals court panel.

Azhahari said the action was also caught by limitation, as the suit was only filed by Raja Ilman Daniel Raja Azlan in 2019, seven years after his father obtained a certified copy of the decree.

Under the Public Authorities Protection Act 1948, an aggrieved party must file a suit within 36 months from the date the cause of action arose.

Also on the panel hearing the appeal were Justices See Mee Chun and Ismail Brahim.

Raja Ilman was ordered to pay RM20,000 in costs to the Port Dickson district land administrator and the district registrar of land titles. The two were represented by Alauddin Baharom, Negeri Sembilan’s assistant legal advisor.

Lawyer Shopna Rani Malakar, who represented Raja Ilman, told FMT she has instructions to file an appeal.

Raja Ilman had brought the suit in the Seremban High Court seeking a declaration that he and several others were the registered proprietors of Sungai Raya, which lies between Tanjung Tuan, Negeri Sembilan, and Sungai Udang, Melaka.

In May 2022, the High Court ruled that Raja Ilman and those claiming through him had no legitimate claim over the land.

Justice Azizul Azmi Adnan held that Raja Daud, who had ruled Sungai Raya by royal decree, had renounced all his claims to the land under an 1880 convention.

The judge said Raja Daud had been granted the right to rule Sungai Raya by Sultan Abdul Samad of Selangor in 1872. However, there was no absolute conveyance of the rights, title and interest in Sungai Raya to him.

Under a boundary agreement in 1878, the sultan handed Sungai Raya to the ruler of Sungai Ujong. “The effect of the agreement “appears to be to exchange Lukut and Sungai Raya for Kuala Langat”, he said.

Kuala Langat and its surrounding areas became part of Selangor, while Lukut and Sungai Raya became part of present-day Negeri Sembilan.

Azizul said Raja Daud received compensation from the government of Sungai Ujong in exchange for the renunciation of his rights. As a result, Raja Daud was no longer the ruler of Sungai Raya.

The judge said provisions in the convention established unequivocally that Raja Daud had, by 1880, disclaimed all rights, interest and title in Sungai Raya in return for $10,000 in bonds issued by Sungai Ujong. - FMT