KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 10): Semantan Estate (1952) Sdn Bhd and its liquidator have filed another suit seeking to compel the government to sell the 263.272-acre prime "Duta enclave" land in Kuala Lumpur and hand over the proceeds to the company, subject to deductions for any compensation received through separate ongoing legal proceedings.

The suit, filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Thursday through Messrs AG Kalidas Doris & Nada, is the third legal action brought by Semantan Estate against the government over the disputed land.

Semantan Estate, which is undergoing voluntary liquidation, and its liquidator Dr Jim Lai Chee Chuen named six defendants, namely the Malaysian government, the Federal Land Commissioner, the Federal Territories minister, the director-general of the Department of Lands and Mines, the director of the Federal Territory Land and Mines Department, and the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability minister.

In the writ and suit filed, Semantan Estate is seeking a declaration that the government held the said prime land in trust for the company, as well as a court order directing the government to sell or agree to sell the land within a specified period.

Further, it sought any order for the Federal Land Commissioner, as the registered owner, and the other defendants to execute the necessary documents to facilitate the sale as directed by the court, without the land being re-registered to Semantan. 

The company is also seeking an acknowledgement that it is entitled to the sale proceeds, less any amounts credited to it through other proceedings.

Alternatively, Semantan Estate wants an equitable compensation or other relief to enforce its rights arising from the government's position as trustee, including compensation under Article 13 of the Federal Constitution, which protects property rights.

It is to be noted that Semantan Estate has two separate on-going suits before the High Court, which remain pending, namely the first as directed by the Court of Appeal and upheld by the Federal Court for an adequate compensation be calculated and given to the company according to the December 1956 rate and another claim of mesne profit, or compensation for the loss of rental income arising from the government's occupation of the land.

The new suit has been fixed for case management before High Court Judge Datuk Anand Ponnudurai on Nov 3.

Semantan Estate was founded by Eng Lian Group and Ng Chin Siu & Sons Rubber Estates Sdn Bhd — the investment vehicles of two prominent land-owning families.

Eng Lian Group is best known for developing Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur since the 1970s, including its main commercial area, Bangsar Village. Ng Chin Siu & Sons Rubber Estates has been less active in recent years, though it once owned much of Desa Sri Hartamas and Mont'Kiara.

In June 2025, a three-member Court of Appeal bench unanimously allowed the government's appeal against a High Court order requiring the disputed land to be re-registered in Semantan Estate's name.

The bench, chaired by Datuk Lee Swee Seng and comprising Tun Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, who is now Chief Justice, and Datuk Azimah Omar, ruled that Semantan Estate was entitled to compensation based on 1956 land values, while allowing its mesne profits claim to proceed.

Lee, in his judgment, said the court shall make no order for recovery of the land because of restrictions under Section 29(1)(b) of the Government Proceedings Act 1956 (GPA).

The provision prohibits courts from ordering the recovery of land or other property from the government, although they may declare that a plaintiff is entitled to the property or its possession.

Lee said that because of the GPA clause, Semantan Estate’s attempt to obtain the land title and to have the land and buildings returned to it may be restrained and restricted.

“The words mean what they say. There is a prohibition, and no order is to be made to the recovery of the land. This is to ensure public authority can perform its duty and obligation,” he said.

The disputed land houses several government buildings and public facilities, including the National Archives, National Examination Syndicate, Inland Revenue Board headquarters, Kuala Lumpur Shariah Court Complex, Federal Territory Mosque and Tun Razak Hockey Stadium.

Other structures include the National Tennis Complex, Integrity Institute of Malaysia, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Academy, Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia, the Duta bus terminal, and pockets of land that have yet to be developed.

Both Lee and Azimah are now Federal Court judges as with Wan Ahmad Farid who ordered that the compensation to the 1956 acquisition be calculated and the mesne profit proceedings to continue.

The Court of Appeal also dismissed Semantan Estate's cross-appeal seeking the return of the land and buildings.

The Federal Court subsequently upheld the appellate court's decision in October 2025.

Wan Ahmad Farid, in his supporting judgement, noted that the 2009 High Court judgment by Judicial Commissioner Zura Yahya ruled that the government had trespassed on the land, but did not make any order for the impugned land to be transferred to Semantan Estate.

“There is no evidence before this court that Semantan Estate had sought clarification from the learned judicial commissioner as to whether the impugned land ought to be transferred and registered by the Federal Land Commissioner to Semantan Estate as a consequential order.

“In short, there was no attempt made to ‘work out’ the order so as to give effect to the initial order. It is to be recalled that the ‘liberty to apply’ rule for consequential order is implied in every court order. Semantan Estate did not exercise this right at the material time,” he said.

In August 2024, the High Court ordered the prime land to be re-registered in Semantan Estate's name, prompting the government's successful appeal.

Zura, in her 2009 decision, had deemed the government had trespassed following additional acquisitions made without paying proper compensation, a decision that was upheld in the Court of Appeal in 2012, and Federal Court in 2017.

This resulted in Semantan Estate to file the two modes of action namely to have the land title registered back to the company and to compel the government to physically hand over the land and its properties.

Presently there are two separate High Court proceedings between the Semantan Estate and the government.

The mesne profits claim was heard before Datuk Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh, who has since been elevated to the Court of Appeal, while the 1956 compensation proceedings are before High Court Judge Roslan Mat Nor.

Semantan Estate is reportedly seeking between RM3 billion and RM12 billion in mesne profits for the loss of rental income between 1956 and 2021, compared with the government's assessment of just RM290 million.

In the separate compensation proceedings, a government-appointed valuer testified that the RM1.39 million previously paid was sufficient, while Semantan Estate contended that compensation based on 1956 land values should range between RM1.547 million and RM1.579 million.

Prior to this, it was reported on Aug 14, that the government had tabled an offer as to the 1956 compensation but despite this, Roslan had directed the hearing to proceed.

In both cases, the decisions are still pending despite the mesne profit hearing had ended and this was due to on-going negotiations between the parties before the filing of the latest suit.