Haikaldin Mahyidin

On the court record

A general civil-litigation practice with a distinctive land-acquisition and public-authority strand.

Haikaldin Mahyidin practises in civil litigation, appearing across the High Court (Mahkamah Tinggi) and the Court of Appeal (Mahkamah Rayuan), with the reported decisions recording appearances as plaintiff, respondent, applicant, intervener and appellant. The caseload combines private-law and public-authority work. Land is prominent: the reported matters engage the compulsory acquisition of land and the compensation payable, including the definitions and provisions of the Land Acquisition Act 1960 in sections 3 and 43.

A distinctive strand concerns the liability and immunity of public authorities, including a dispute under the Federal Roads Act 1959 and the question whether the Attorney General is immune from civil action in respect of the conduct of a prosecution, together with an allegation of a real danger of bias on the part of a trial court. There is also company and insolvency work, including a winding-up petition. Appearing in many capacities, the practice is instructed on both sides of civil disputes and in matters engaging the conduct and immunity of public officers.

The work turns on the interpretation of statute and on the principles of civil procedure, tort and property. In the land matters the argument concerns the entitlement to and assessment of compensation; in the public-authority matters the reach of statutory powers and immunities; in the bias matters the test for apparent bias and the fairness of the trial; and in the winding-up matters the statutory grounds. Several matters reach the Court of Appeal on questions arising below.

The overall profile is a general civil-litigation practice with a distinctive land-acquisition and public-authority strand, conducted at first instance and on appeal. The matters turn on the Land Acquisition Act, the immunities and liabilities of public officers, and the principles of civil procedure, rather than on any criminal dimension, marking a practice that spans private property disputes and the accountability of the State.