KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 8): The Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) on Thursday filed a notice of appeal against the High Court's decision requiring the government to return 263.72 acres (106.72 hectares) of land known as the ‘Duta enclave’ to the liquidator of Semantan Estate (1952) Sdn Bhd.
“Yes, it was filed this afternoon (Thursday),” said senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan, who is the deputy head of the AGC's Civil Division, when contacted by The Edge.
However, an application for a stay of execution of the court decision has yet to be filed.
On Wednesday, the AGC said in a statement that it will represent the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur Land Registrar in applying for a stay of the court decision, and to file an appeal at the Court of Appeal.
In the decision delivered earlier on Wednesday, judge Datuk Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh allowed the liquidator of Semantan Estate's request for the government to transfer to the company the 263.72-acre land to Semantan Estate, within three months.
The judge issued an order for the government and its agencies to have the liquidator registered as the proprietor of the land.
The land, located along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim (previously Jalan Duta) area, was acquired by the government in 1956 for RM1.32 million under the then Land Acquisition Enactment, for the purpose of developing a diplomatic enclave.
It currently houses several government facilities, including an office complex (where the Inland Revenue Board has an office), the Tun Razak Hockey Stadium, the Malaysian Institute of Integrity office, the National Archives, the Kuala Lumpur Shariah Court, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Academy, and portions of the Federal Territory Mosque.
In 2009, the High Court ruled that the government had trespassed on the land, and in 2012, this decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal and subsequently the Federal Court.
In November 2018, a Federal Court bench, led by then Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Ahmad Maarop, dismissed the government’s application to review the 2012 decision, resulting in the judgement remaining intact.
Semantan Estate claimed that it had retained its beneficial interest in the 263.27 acres, which it alleged the government had taken unlawful possession of, and that the government should pay the company mesne profits (rents and profits received or made during the occupation of the premises) as damages for trespassing.
The trial relating to Semantan Estate’s claim of mesne profits is still pending.