KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 — The Shah Alam High Court today dismissed a private developer’s challenge against Selangor’s religious authorities over their alleged land grab of a 26-acre plot for a giant “mosque”, the firm’s lawyer confirmed.
Lawyer Rosli Dahlan said his client, United Allied Empire Sdn Bhd (UAE), will appeal the decision, noting that the Shah Alam High Court judicial commissioner Datuk Azimah Omar only said in a one-line ruling that the company “has not made out a case for judicial review”.
“We will be filing an appeal within the period of 30 days because we want to see what is the judge’s basis,” he told Malay Mail Online when contacted today.
In cases where court rulings are appealed, judges must provide a written judgment with the reasons for their decision.
Last February 12, UAE won leave for judicial review against the Selangor religious authorities’ compulsory acquisition of its land, with then Shah Alam High Court judge Vernon Ong also freezing all action on the 26.281-acre land until the end of the judicial review proceedings.
After failing to receive a reply to its April 2013 written plea to the prime minister and then Selangor mentri besar, UAE had as a last resort applied on April 22 for a judicial review to revoke the compulsory acquisition of its land that is roughly the size of 20 international football fields.
In the lawsuit, UAE had accused the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) of abusing its powers to grab its land in Bestari Jaya — an area formerly known as Batang Berjuntai — in the state’s Kuala Selangor district.
Citing a government gazette of the land to build a giant mosque, UAE said JAIS had hidden its true intention to build a fully integrated Islamic school with hostel, shelter and rehabilitation centre on the land.
The ethnic Chinese-owned company has also accused the state authorities of purported racial oppression and violation of its constitutional rights. It alleged that the religious bodies had abused their powers to avoid paying fair compensation for the land and had shored up their land bank for future development.
According to UAE, compulsory acquisition of private land was only allowed if it benefited the public under Article 13 of the Federal Constitution. The same article also says that property owners should receive adequate compensation for the compulsory acquisition or use of their property.
In a typical compulsory acquisition process, property owners can expect to be paid lower than the market value, or lower than the sum they may have received if they had sold the property.
In its judicial review application, UAE named the director of Selangor’s Land and Mines Department, the Kuala Selangor land administrator, JAIS, the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS), Selangor Zakat Board and the Selangor government as respondents.
The developer also argued that the land authorities’ decision to allow the acquisition amounted to an “unreasonable exercise of power” for failing to ensure legal compliance.
