KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — The Court of Appeal has rejected five appeals by Berjaya Hills Resort Bhd and several landowners, upholding the Pahang state government’s right to revise quit rent rates without needing the National Land Council to approve the specific amounts.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member bench, Justice Datuk Choo Kah Sing clarified a key distinction in land governance: while the National Land Council must approve the timing of a state’s revision exercise, the actual rates imposed are determined solely by the state authority under the National Land Code (NLC), FMT reported.
The legal battle began when Berjaya Hills and other proprietors challenged a substantial increase in quit rent across 330 parcels of land in Bentong. The revised rates took effect in January 2020, but were applied retroactively for 2020, 2021, and 2022 through bills issued in 2023.
The landowners had sought a judicial review, arguing that the hike was unlawful on four grounds: that the council had not approved the specific rates, the classification of the Genting area as “town land” was defective, the new rates were not endorsed on the land titles, and the amendments to the Pahang Land Rules were made retroactively.
Choo dismissed all four arguments. The court ruled that the council’s approval of the revision exercise was sufficient and that it was not required to sign off on the quantum of the rates.
Addressing the other grievances, the court found that the gazettement issue regarding “town land” was a mere technical defect that had since been corrected.
Furthermore, the court dismissed the claim regarding land titles, stating that the endorsement of revised quit rent is a purely administrative step. The retroactive amendment to the Pahang Land Rules was also upheld, as it simply clarified the state’s original intention for the rates to apply to existing alienated land.
The ruling provides significant clarity on Section 101(5) of the NLC, confirming that the state authority maintains full autonomy over the determination of quit rent rates once the timing of the revision is approved.
The bench also included Justices Datuk Ravinthran Paramaguru and Datuk Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin.
The respondents were represented by Tan Sri Tommy Thomas, Chuar Kia Lin, Valerie Seaw, Wong Ying Ying, and Sharrin Kaur, while Senior Federal Counsel Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi, Munirah Shamsudin, and Ahmad Fazrul Zahari represented the Director of the Pahang Land and Mines Office.
