Pentadbir Tanah Daerah Petaling v S.E.A Housing Corporation Sdn Bhd

b-01ncvca-224-04-2023 Court of Appeal (Mahkamah Rayuan) 10 August 2025 • B-01(NCvC)(A)-224-04/2023 • 24 min read
5 cases cited (0 SG, 5 foreign)

Catchwords

Right to property – Article 13 (1) Federal Constitution – Deprivation of land by forfeiture – Quasi-criminal nature – Strict compliance with constitutional safeguards - Wednesbury reasonableness – Forfeiture of land following admitted mistake by Land Office – Concealment of contradictory reports – Whether decision was reasonable - National Land Code 1965 ss. 97, 100, 130, 133, 380 – Service of Form 6A Notice on wrong entity – Annulment petition – Whether filed out of time - Registrar’s statutory duty to correct errors - Land Acquisition Act 1960 - Compulsory acquisition for public purposes – Whether forfeiture was an unlawful backdoor method – Whether it contravenes the National Land Code, Land Acquisition Act, Federal Constitution

Practice Areas

Right to property

Judges (3)

Azimah binti Omar Delivered Faizah binti Jamaludin Coram Mohd Nazlan bin Mohd Ghazali Coram

Counsel (7)

Lee & Lim Firm Penasihat Undang-Undang Negeri Selangor Firm Bryan Ching Tze Yeow Counsel Respondent Lim Kien Huat Counsel Respondent Mohd Abdul Hakim Bin Mohd Ali Counsel Appellant Nurul Izzah Binti Abdul Mutalib Counsel Appellant Siti Radziah Binti Kamarudin Counsel Appellant

Parties (2)

Pentadbir Tanah Daerah Petaling Appellant S.E.A Housing Corporation Sdn Bhd Respondent

Case Significance

Pentadbir Tanah Daerah Petaling v S.E.A Housing Corporation Sdn Bhd is a Court of Appeal (Mahkamah Rayuan) decision dated August 10, 2025 (citation: b-01ncvca-224-04-2023). <p>The Petaling Land Administrator appealed the High Court's decision allowing S.E.A Housing Corporation's originating summons for declaratory relief after the PTG forfeited the company's land due to an admitted administrative error in its own records. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the forfeiture was an unlawful backdoor attempt to compulsorily acquire the land without complying with the Land Acquisition Act 1960, and that the PTG's own contradictory technical reports an The panel comprised Azimah binti Omar, Faizah binti Jamaludin and Mohd Nazlan bin Mohd Ghazali, with Azimah binti Omar delivering the judgment. Counsel appearing: Bryan Ching Tze Yeow (counsel for respondent), Lim Kien Huat (counsel for respondent), Mohd Abdul Hakim Bin Mohd Ali (counsel for appellant), Nurul Izzah Binti Abdul Mutalib (counsel for appellant), Siti Radziah Binti Kamarudin (counsel for appellant).

Summary

The Petaling Land Administrator appealed the High Court's decision allowing S.E.A Housing Corporation's originating summons for declaratory relief after the PTG forfeited the company's land due to an admitted administrative error in its own records. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the forfeiture was an unlawful backdoor attempt to compulsorily acquire the land without complying with the Land Acquisition Act 1960, and that the PTG's own contradictory technical reports and concealment of errors made the forfeiture unreasonable. The appellant was ordered to pay costs of RM25,000.

What was the outcome of Pentadbir Tanah Daerah Petaling v S.E.A Housing Corporation Sdn Bhd?

<p>The Petaling Land Administrator appealed the High Court's decision allowing S.E.A Housing Corporation's originating summons for declaratory relief ...

Statutes Cited

Federal Constitution
Art 13(1)
Land Acquisition Act 1960 (Cap 486)
National Land Code (Cap 828)

Cases Cited (5)

UK (1)
[1948] 1 KB 223
MY (4)
[1983] 2 MLJ 35 [2003] 3 MLJ 1 [2013] 4 MLJ 431 [2025] MLJU 196