PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has dismissed the appeal by MPHB Capital Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary Kelana Megah Development Sdn Bhd for additional compensation over the acquisition of its land by the Johor government for the Petronas Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project.
The five-member bench led by Chief Justice Tan Sri Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat dismissed the appeal yesterday and ordered Kelana Megah to pay RM60,000 costs.
The other judges on the bench were Datuk Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, Datuk Mohd Zawawi Salleh, Datuk Vernon Ong Lam Kiat and Datuk Hasnah Mohammed Hashim.
Lawyer Khoo Guan Huat, representing the Kota Tinggi district land administrator and Petronas, confirmed the dismissal of the company’s appeal.
Kelana Megah was the registered owner of seven plots of agricultural land measuring 1149.3ha in Pengerang which was compulsorily acquired by the state authorities under the Land Acquisition Act 1960.
In 2012, the district land administrator conducted enquiries to determine their market value and had recommended a market value of 93 sen psf but Kelana Megah sought RM5.30 psf as the market value of the plots.
On April 28, 2017, the High Court ordered the district land administrator and Petronas to pay additional compensation award of RM110,000 an hectare as market value for the land or a total additional compensation of RM11,496,500.
Kelana Megah appealed to the Court of Appeal but it was dismissed on July 2, 2018, prompting the company to appeal to the Federal Court.
Kelana Megah was represented by lawyer Robert Lazar. – Jan 22, 2020 Bernama
