This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on August 16, 2019
KUALA LUMPUR: Semantan Estates (1952) Sdn Bhd is appealing against the High Court’s decision to allow Kenari Maluri Sdn Bhd, a company claiming to represent the majority of Semantan Estate’s shareholders, to intervene in the former’s judicial review application.
Following proceedings in chambers before Justice Datuk Nordin Hassan, Kenari Maluri’s lawyer Datuk Edward Ng Boon Siong told the press that the hearing for the case has been postponed to Oct 3 pending the Court of Appeal’s decision on the matter.
Also present in chambers were Janet Chai Pei Ying and Adelin Phung, representing Semantan Estates, and Krishna Priya, acting on behalf of the government.
Justice Nordin had on May 29 fixed the date to hear the merits of Semantan Estates’ claims to retain beneficial interests and cause to transfer ownership of the 106.7ha along Jalan Duta (now Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim).
Kenari Maluri sought to intervene in the judicial dispute because it wants to provide a win-win solution to a pre-Merdeka dispute over the large tract of prime land.
It has also claimed it is friendly to both the plaintiff and defendants, namely the government and six other defendants.
Semantan Estates had in 2017 named the Malaysian government, Federal Lands Commissioner, minister charged with the responsibility for land in the federal territory, Natural Resources and Environment minister, director-general of the Lands and Mines Department, director of Lands and Mines (Federal Territory) and Federal Territory registrar of titles as respondents.
The company filed a judicial review on the grounds that the government and other respondents had failed, neglected, omitted and refused to comply with Semantan Estates to give effect to a 2009 court order.
They had sought leave from Justice Nordin’s court for an order of mandamus to compel the respondents to do the following: