KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 8): SD Guthrie Bhd (formerly Sime Darby Plantation Bhd) has resolved its five-year legal dispute with the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) involving the compulsory acquisition of the group's lands in Byram Estate, Seberang Perai Selatan, following a settlement between the entities.
The group has secured an additional RM68.01 million in compensation for the 18 parcels of land totalling about 380 acres that PDC acquired from it in 2020, raising the total payout to RM241 million — one of the highest compensation paid for lands in the Byram area.
Under the agreed terms, the economic development arm of the Penang state government will pay the RM68.01 million top-up, in addition to the RM173.15 million initially determined by the land administrator.
The agreement also unfreezes RM37.52 million in compensation that was previously held by the land administrator under Section 29A of the Land Acquisition Act 1960.
The out-of-court resolution concludes a judicial review application filed by SD Guthrie to challenge the legality of the compulsory acquisition, with a consent judgment recorded before High Court judge Datuk Dr Suzana Muhamad Said on Sept 25.
It also disposes of 32 land reference proceedings concerning the compensation, with the settlement of these proceedings recorded before High Court judge Azlan Sulaiman on Tuesday (Oct 6).
Background of the dispute
The dispute can be traced back to PDC's attempts in 2014 to acquire the lands from the plantation group. This led to a proposed joint development of an RM1.8 billion high-tech industrial park between the Sime Darby group and PDC in 2015, which eventually failed to materialise.
The PDC then initiated compulsory acquisition proceedings to acquire the land, prompting SD Guthrie to challenge both the acquisition process and the compensation awarded.
In the judicial review application it initiated, the group argued that the compulsory acquisition was unlawful and an improper exercise of statutory powers under the Land Acquisition Act 1060. The group was granted leave by the High Court in June 2021 to proceed with the legal challenge, as well as an interim stay order on the compulsory acquisition.
At the same time, the plantation group also filed 17 land reference proceedings to challenge the adequacy of compensation awarded for the land parcels.
Meanwhile, PDC separately initiated 15 land reference proceedings to challenge the compensation, as it contended that the sum awarded by the land administrator was too high.
This resulted in the 32 land reference proceedings that further complicated the dispute.
Following several years of litigation, both sides entered negotiations to explore an amicable resolution, which culminated in the comprehensive settlement that resolved the related court proceedings between them.
SD Guthrie was represented by Rosli Dahlan, Amiratu Al Amirat and Ho Yu Fei of Messrs Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership in the legal actions, while PDC was represented by lawyer Ruebankumar Asokan of Messrs Sithambaram & Associates.
The Penang state government, together with the Penang Director of Lands and Mines, and the Seberang Perai Selatan Land Administrator, were represented by Penang senior assistant state legal adviser Charanjit Singh, together with state legal officers Sharifah Syazwani Syed Hussin and Rehab Abdul Shukur.
Rosli confirmed the settlement when contacted by The Edge.