PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has dismissed MPHB Capital Bhd wholly-owned subsidiary Kelana Megah Development Sdn Bhd's appeal pertaining to its claim 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 had dismissed the appeal yesterday and ordered the company (Kelana Megah) to pay RM60,000 costs.
The other judges presiding on the bench were Federal Court judges Justices Datuk Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, Datuk Mohd Zawawi Salleh, Datuk Vernon Ong Lam Kiat and Datuk Hasnah Mohammed Hashim.
When contacted, lawyer Khoo Guan Huat representing the Kota Tinggi district land administrator and Petroliam Nasional Berhad, confirmed the dismissal of the company's (Kelana Megah) appeal.
Kelana Megah was the registered owner of seven plots of agricultural land measuring 1149.3ha, located in Pengerang, Johor, which were compulsorily acquired by the Johor state authorities pursuant to the Land Acquisition Act 1960.
In 2012, the district land administrator conducted land enquiries in respect of the acquisition of the lands to determine their market value and had recommended a market value of 93 sen per square foot (psf) but Kelana Megah sought RM5.30 psf as the market value of the lands.
On April 28, 2017, the High Court ordered the district land administrator and Petroliam to pay additional compensation award of RM110,000 per hectare as market value for the land or a total additional compensation sum of RM11,496,500 for the lands.
Unhappy with the amount of the additional compensation awarded by the High Court, Kelana Megah filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Kelana Megah's appeal was however dismissed on July 2, 2018 prompting the company to appeal to the Federal Court.
Kelana Megah was represented by lawyer Robert Lazar. — Bernama
