Convent Bukit Nanas mulls settling legal action on non-renewal of land lease

KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 — The Lady Superior of the Society of Saint Maur, which runs Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Convent Bukit Nanas (CBN) will consider to settle its legal action to challenge the government’s decision on the non-renewal of its land lease which is due to expire on September 6 this year.

The Lady Superior’s counsel, Damien Chan told reporters that the settlement is with regard to the extension of land lease by the government.

“We are waiting for an official letter (from the government). A case management is fixed on June 3 for parties to update the status of settlement,” he said after the matter came up for case management before High Court senior deputy registrar Nur Aslamiah Jamil via online proceeding today.

On April 22, the government agreed to extend the land lease for SMK Convent Bukit Nanas by 60 years upon its expiry on September 6 this year.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), in a statement said the decision to extend the lease was made after considering the contributions made by SMK Convent Bukit Nanas to the country’s education since 1899.

Meanwhile, Chan said the hearing of a stay application by the school against the authorities’ decision in not renewing the land lease which was supposedly fixed for tomorrow before Judge Datuk Noorin Badaruddin, will be converted into a case management.

On April 19, Justice Noorin granted leave to the Lady Superior to initiate a judicial review application to challenge the non-renewal of its land lease.

The Lady Superior as applicant filed the judicial review application on April 7, this year naming the Federal Territories Lands and Mines director as the sole respondent.

In the application, the Lady Superior said it had written to the Federal Territories Land and Mines office on October 4, 2017 to seek an extension of the land lease and received the Lands and Mines office’s reply on December 18, 2020 that the lease would not be renewed.

The applicant is seeking among others, a certiorari order to quash the decision by the Lands and Mines office in refusing the land lease extension and a mandamus order to compel the Federal Territories Lands and Mines director to revoke the land lease non-renewal letter dated December 18, 2020. — Bernama