THE Government has moved to resolve a decades-long legal battle with Semantan Estate (1952) Sdn Bhd (SESB) by offering a settlement over compensation for 263.272 acres (106.542 hectares) of land in Mukim Batu, known as the Duta Enclave.
The proposal was disclosed during Kuala Lumpur High Court assessment proceedings to determine the compensation due to SESB following a Court of Appeal ruling that the company should be compensated rather than have the disputed land transferred to it.
Senior Federal Counsel Nurhafizza Azizan told Judge Roslan Mat Noor that the Government had only received instructions on Thursday to submit the settlement proposal.
She said the proposal would first have to obtain approval from the Ministry of Finance before it could be formally presented to SESB.
“Your Honour, in this situation we wish to resolve this case as soon as possible, but in the interest of fairness to the plaintiff (SESB), I am certain they will require some time to discuss the matter with their client before deciding whether it can be resolved amicably.
“We only received this proposal yesterday from MOF… all proposals for settlement must first obtain approval from the Ministry of Finance,” she said.
SESB counsel Ira Biswas then applied for the proceedings to be adjourned to allow the company time to consider the proposal. Nurhafizza did not object.
Judge Roslan, however, rejected the application, saying that while the court had discretion to grant an adjournment, it could not be exercised arbitrarily after a trial date had already been fixed.
The court subsequently proceeded with the testimony of the defence's first witness, licensed surveyor Foo Gee Jen.
Foo, who has almost 40 years of experience, told the court that he had been tasked with assessing the compensation for the 263.272-acre parcel in accordance with the Court of Appeal's order dated June 24, 2025, as well as determining its market value.
He said his team had overlaid the Government's survey plan with the current site layout and found that major highways, including Jalan Duta, the New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) and the Jalan Duta-Sungai Buloh Expressway, appeared on the map despite having been constructed after 1956.
Foo said documents relied upon by the Government did not accurately depict the physical condition of the land or its surrounding environment at the relevant time.
The Duta Enclave dispute has its origins in the Government's acquisition of the land in 1956 and has since developed into a protracted legal battle spanning more than two decades.
On Nov 13 last year, the Federal Court dismissed SESB's application for leave to appeal against a Court of Appeal decision that the Federal Land Registrar was not required to register the 106.556-hectare parcel in the company's name.
The strategically located land along Jalan Duta now accommodates several major public institutions and facilities, including the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) complex, government buildings, the National Hockey Stadium, the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM) and the Federal Territory Mosque.
On June 24, 2024, the Court of Appeal unanimously ordered the Government to pay compensation to SESB, with the amount to be assessed by the High Court with the assistance of expert analysis.
The appellate court also dismissed SESB's cross-appeal seeking to have the land transferred to the company, which had maintained that the property was unlawfully acquired by the Government in 1956.
The legal dispute began in 2003, when SESB sued the Government, alleging that the land had been unlawfully taken.
In 2009, Judicial Commissioner Zura Yahya ruled in SESB's favour, finding that the Government had unlawfully taken over the land and that the company retained a beneficial interest in it.
The Government subsequently appealed the ruling to the Court of Appeal and Federal Court but was unsuccessful.
In February 2017, Semantan Estate filed a suit against the Federal Territory Land Registrar seeking to enforce the High Court judgment.
The High Court in August 2024 ordered the Federal Territory Land Registrar to transfer ownership of the disputed land to SESB within three months.
The ruling was later overturned by the Court of Appeal, resulting in the current proceedings to determine the compensation payable to SESB. - August 14, 2026
