Semantan Estate: Court still wants parties to consider mediation, as decision on trespass compensation looms

KUALA LUMPUR (May 22): The High Court still wants the federal government and the liquidator of Semantan Estate (1952) Sdn Bhd to explore the possibility of mediation before the court delivers its decision on mesne profit (trespass compensation) to the company following the occupation of the now prime "Duta enclave" land it had deemed to have trespassed on since it was acquired in December 1956.

Trial judge Datuk Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh said this on Wednesday, after hearing clarification on mesne profit sought by Semantan Estate, following the occupation of the 263.272-acre land that the government had acquired and with government buildings built on it.

Ahmad Shahrir fixed June 24 as a case management date to fix a decision date.

“This date will consider the suitability of my date [taking into account my duties at Court of Appeal] and parties’ suitable dates.

“Most likely the decision will be delivered online via the Zoom platform. If parties are amenable to mediation, parties can write to court before the case management date. This is for court-led mediation,” the judge said after hearing of clarification on the matter before the KL High Court, which was physically sitting in Seremban, Negri Sembilan.

Wednesday’s sitting was conducted in Seremban as Ahmad Shahrir had been transferred there late last year before his elevation to the Court of Appeal last month.

Mesne profits are essentially a form of monetary compensation for wrongful occupancy or trespass. They are calculated based on the rental income or profits the rightful owner could have expected to earn until the wrongful possession ends.

Semantan Estate is seeking between RM3.1 billion and RM13.1 billion, while the government's estimate stands at RM290 million.

The sum differs following different calculations made by Semantan Estate’s privately hired valuation of the valuable land, and the government’s estimate based on its Valuation and Property Services Department valuation of the land between 1956 to 2021.

The property enclave currently houses government buildings, including the Inland Revenue Board headquarters, the National Archives, the Malaysian Examinations Syndicate, the National Hockey Stadium, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Academy, and the Institute of Integrity, along with the Duta main road and the interchange.

Semantan Estate was represented by counsels Ira Biswas (lead), Janet Chai Pei Ying, and Alexie Ng Ying Ching from Messrs Chooi & Co, while Senior Federal Counsel Mohamad Al Saifi Hashim led the government counsels.

Initially, Ahmad Shahrir was scheduled to deliver his decision on Tuesday, but the decision had to be postponed owing to the clarification yesterday.

Semantan Estate applies stay for 1956 compensation proceedings

Meanwhile, Chai, who confirmed the outcome of Wednesday’s proceedings to The Edge, also informed that it had filed a stay to the High Court proceedings to calculate the 1956 compensation based on that period’s market rate where Semantan Estate had only received RM1.32 million pending its appeal over their discovery application of documents purportedly held by the government.

At a different High Court, judge Roslan Mat Noor had dismissed Semantan Estate’s two discovery applications on April 1, resulting in the company having to file a notice of appeal to the decision.

Semantan Estate had sought for two types of documents: acquisition plans for the 263.272-acre land taken by the government following three gazette notifications, and survey plans showing the land’s accessibility.

Government representatives said they did not have the documents as they had searched the archives, and they claim it could be held by the then-Selangor Land and Mines Department which had done the land acquisition (the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur had only been established in 1974).

The acquisition of the land had been deemed illegal and the government was deemed to have trespassed in a 2009 High Court decision, and the verdict had been upheld by the Court of Appeal and Federal Court in 2012. The government’s attempt to review the Federal Court’s 2012 decision was also dismissed in 2019.

Following that, Semantan Estate engaged three modes of legal action to acquire the physical land, acquire back the land title, and mesne profit calculation.

The physical acquisition of the land was dismissed in 2022.

Then, in August 2024, Ahmad Shahrir had ordered for the titles of this land to be registered back to Semantan Estate.

But, this decision was reversed by the Court of Appeal (COA) in June 2025, which ruled that the government would retain the land but must compensate the company based on 1956 valuations. The COA had also dismissed Semantan Estate’s appeal to physically take back the buildings.

The appellate court further ordered that the specific quantum of this compensation be determined by the High Court. The hearing for this compensation is before Roslan while mesne profit had been going on since 2023 before Ahmad Shahrir.

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