KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 6): Berjaya Corp Bhd (KL:BJCORP) said its main businesses at Berjaya Hills remain fully operational despite enforcement action by the Pahang authorities, and expects no material financial or operational impact from the issue.
It said state authorities had sealed and restricted access to the staff quarters, central laundry, rabbit park and Japanese garden on Sept 28, while The Chateau Spa & Wellness Resort, Colmar Tropicale Hotel, Berjaya Hills Golf & Country Club and the greenhouses were unaffected.
"The group's core operating facilities, including the hotels, golf club and greenhouses remain unaffected and continue to operate as usual," Berjaya Corp said in a bourse filing Tuesday.
The disclosure was made in response to Bursa Malaysia's queries seeking details of the enforcement action — linked to a long-running dispute between Berjaya Hills Resort Bhd and the Pahang government over a sharp increase in quit rent imposed on the company's properties in the state — and how it would financially and operationally affect the group.
Berjaya Hills claimed its annual quit rent jumped 13-fold to RM33.7 million in 2020 from about RM2.4 million in 2019, before being reduced to RM25.75 million following 11 appeals to the state government between April 2020 and December 2022.
The company said it paid about RM42.65 million in quit rent and penalties "under protest" between 2020 and 2026, while continuing to seek a further review of the rates.
In Tuesday's filing, Berjaya Corp said the higher quit rent expenses had been recognised through accruals for the respective financial years since the revised rates took effect in 2020.
"Accordingly, the impact arising from the revised annual quit rent rates has been taken into account in the group's financial statements for the respective financial years and the revised rates have no material operational impact to the group," it added.
Separately on Tuesday, Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said the state government is open to discussions with Berjaya Hills to resolve the impasse, but stressed that any talks must be guided by existing legal provisions and regulations.
"That is up to them (Berjaya Hills). We are taking actions based on the law. The state government is open to discussions, but they must be based on and guided by the law. There are regulations, so follow the rules," Wan Rosdy was quoted as saying by Bernama.
Berjaya Hills had on Oct 2 called the enforcement action "unconscionable and totally unacceptable", arguing that it was unreasonable given that its application for leave to appeal the quit rent dispute remains pending before the Federal Court.
Nevertheless, it also said it hoped the Pahang government would continue to engage with the company towards a "mutually acceptable and amicable resolution".
The company, which has been challenging the revised quit rent through legal means with no success so far, first sought a judicial review at the Temerloh High Court. The application was dismissed in May 2024 on grounds that the court could not intervene in the state government's policy decision.
That decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal on July 16 this year. This led to Berjaya Hills applying for leave to appeal to the Federal Court on Aug 14, with the hearing scheduled for Dec 8.
Berjaya Corp closed unchanged at 25 sen on Tuesday for a market capitalisation of RM1.52 billion.