KUALA LUMPUR (June 3): The Lady Superior of the Society of Saint Maur, which runs Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Convent Bukit Nanas (CBN), has halted its legal challenge against the government’s decision on non-renewal of its land lease due to expire on Sept 6 this year.

The legal action was dropped after Federal Territories Lands and Mines Office director Datuk Muhammad Yasir Yahya reportedly said the land office committee had agreed to a 60-year extension for the Lady Superior via a letter.

“SMK CBN also needs to settle a fee of RM2,070 for extension purposes within three months from this date (May 31),” Yasir said.

He added that the land could only be used for educational purposes and cannot be transferred to other parties without the office’s consent.

Lawyer Damien Chan, acting on behalf of the Lady Superior, told theedgemarkets.com that they were discontinuing their judicial review filed with the High Court.

“We filed a notice of discontinuance just now,” he said.

On April 22, the government agreed to extend the land lease for SMK CBN by 60 years upon its expiry on Sept 6 this year.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in a statement said the decision to extend the lease was made after considering contributions made by SMK CBN to the country's education since 1899.

On April 19, High Court Judge Datuk Noorin Badaruddin granted leave to the Lady Superior to initiate a judicial review application to challenge the non-renewal of its land lease.

The Lady Superior as the applicant filed the judicial review application on April 7, naming the Federal Territories Lands and Mines Office director as the sole respondent.

In the application, the Lady Superior said it wrote to the Federal Territories Land and Mines Office on Oct 4, 2017 to seek an extension of the land lease and received the office’s reply on Dec 18, 2020 that the lease would not be renewed.

The applicant was seeking, among others, a certiorari order to quash the decision by the Lands and Mines Office in refusing the land lease extension and a mandamus order to compel the Federal Territories Lands and Mines Office director to revoke the land lease non-renewal letter dated Dec 18, 2020.