High Court grants stay over registration of Semantan Estate

• There are special circumstances due to the presence of government agencies and buildings including the National Archives that hold the country’s historic records, judge Datuk Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh said. The land in Mukim Batu also houses personnel manning those agencies, he noted.

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 12): The Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur Land Registrar has been granted a stay by the High Court on Thursday from registering a 263.27-acre plot of land in the ‘Duta enclave’ to the liquidator of Semantan Estate (1952) Sdn Bhd.

There are special circumstances due to the presence of government agencies and buildings including the National Archives that hold the country’s historic records, judge Datuk Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh said. The land in Mukim Batu also houses personnel manning those agencies, he noted.

If implemented, the judgement would create immense irreversible consequences, and it is appropriate for a stay to be granted until the determination and the exhaustion of the appeal, Ahmad Shahrir said.

“On this fact alone, this court grants a stay pending the appeal, with no order as to costs,” he said in his decision.

On Aug 7, the Land Registrar was asked to register the land to Semantan within three months of the court order.

What buildings are affected?

Besides the National Archives and major roads leading from Jalan Duta to Segambut, there are 13 other government buildings including Examination Syndicate, Education Department, Institut Integriti Malaysia, Inland Revenue Board, and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Academy.

The Jalan Duta Sports Complex — comprising the National Tennis Centre, Squash Centre, and Tun Razak Hockey stadium — also sits on the land.

Others included the International Islamic University academic building, Malaysia Institute of Islamic Understanding, Federal Territory mosque, and the Duta bus terminal.

Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan, who appeared with federal counsel Nur Izzati Zulkifli, had earlier told Ahmad Shahrir of potential irreparable harm if a stay is not granted.

“There are a lot of buildings and other government departments situated on the land as listed in the affidavit with 14 structures and the roads… the area is well connected to the roads frequently used by the public,” he flagged.

The plaintiff Semantan Estate would have all the right to evict those on the property including all departments and government agencies, Shamsul said. “This would effectively compel the departments to close and this would greatly impact and affect the government functions.”

There is also an affidavit by Treasury secretary general Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican, who affirmed that negotiations are still pending with the company, Shamsul added.

The deputy director of the Land Registrar, Mohd Firdaus Ibaruslan, in his affidavit affirmed that a stay would not be prejudicial to the company.

Ownership irrefutable
Semantan Estate counsel Ira Biswas, who appeared with Janet Chai Pei Ying and Alexie Ng, objected to the stay, stressing that the ownership of the land is irrefutable as affirmed by the Federal Court and cannot be appealed.

“That judgement is irrefutable as liability has already been proven,” she said. “The land does not belong to you and you have to give it up.”

The government had 12 years since the Federal Court decision in 2012 when the apex court refused to grant leave, and “has not done anything to affect the transfer and acted as if it were their land”, she highlighted.

There are no special circumstances involved, Ira argued, as the land belonged to the plaintiff and “it was wrongly registered” to the government.

After a short recess, Ahmad Shahrir announced his decision to grant the stay.

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