KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 19): The Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur Land Registrar has filed a stay of the High Court’s decision earlier this month that ordered it to process the transfer of the 263.27-acre plot of land in Mukim Batu known as the “Duta enclave” to the liquidator of Semantan Estate (1952) Sdn Bhd within three months starting from Aug 7.

Sources contacted by The Edge confirmed that the government has filed the stay application and the High Court has fixed Sept 12 as the hearing date.

The hearing is fixed before judge Datuk Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh.

Separately, the registrar has also filed a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal on Aug 8 over Ahmad Shahrir’s decision that allowed the transfer of the land that covered several government buildings, including the Tun Abdul Razak hockey stadium, the National Archives, and the Inland Revenue Board office in Jalan Duta (now Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim).

Other affected buildings include the KL Syariah Court complex, Malaysian Institute of Integrity, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Academy, as well as the flyover and a section of Jalan Duta heading towards Segambut, and possibly portions of the Federal Territory mosque.

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

Eng Lian Group is mostly known for developing Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur from the 1970s. The group's commercial and retail showcase — Bangsar Village — sits prominently there. Ng Chin Siu & Sons, meanwhile, has kept a low profile and has not done many developments in recent years. Most of Desa Hartamas and Mont Kiara once belonged to it.

On Aug 7, Ahmad Shahrir directed the registrar to transfer the 263.72-acre land within three months, free of encumbrances and liabilities, and also instructed:

• An order for the government and its agency to have the liquidator of Semantan Estate to be registered as the proprietor of the land that is free of encumbrances
• Execution of the instruments of the land transfer
• Issue and cause to be issued of the land title to the plaintiff
• The returning and handling of the possession of land to the plaintiff as the lawful proprietor.

The High Court was executing the order and decision made by the 2009 High Court that ruled 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.

In acquiring the land in 1956, for it to be transformed into the "Duta enclave", Semantan Estate was paid RM1.32 million.

Following Ahmad Shahrir’s decision, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he was worried about the implications of the court’s decision and a need for the government to relook from a legal point of view into the High Court's decision in favour of Semantan Estate.