KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 12): Plantation company Harn Len Corp Bhd announced today that it has engaged a law firm to protest the compensation awarded to its subsidiary for a compulsory land acquisition in Johor Bahru. 

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Harn Len said its wholly-owned subsidiary Nusantara Daya Sdn Bhd (NDSB) received a letter from Johor Bahru Land Office on Dec 10, for the compulsory acquisition of “Lot 46200, GRN 460222, Township and District of Johor Bahru”. 

“The Land Office of Johor Bahru made an order for compensation of the land at RM16.52 million or at a rate of RM3,700 per square metre,” the filing said. 

“As the award was deemed to be below the market value, it was accepted under protest. As such, NDSB has engaged Messrs Clarence Edwin Law Offices as its legal counsel to submit the relevant documents to protest the compensation awarded to NDSB,” Harn Len added. 

The acquisition was for the construction of sewage treatment plant in upstream Sungai Segget there for Prime Minister’s Department “under Paragraph 3(1)(a) of the Land Acquisition Act 1960 [Act 486]”, the filing added. 

Further development on the matter will be announced in due course, Harn Len said. It is unclear as to what the market value of the aforementioned land was, as it could not be accurately pinpointed in Harn Len’s annual report for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2016 (FY16). 

Shares of Harn Len traded unchanged at 61 sen today, giving it a market capitalisation of RM113.14 million.