MALAYSIA LAND LAW- LAND ACQUISITION

1. ILYANA ISKANDAR
LAND ACQUISITION
1. Art. 13 Federal Constitution
 No person shall be deprived of property save in accordance with the law
 No law shall provide for the compulsory acquisition or use of property without adequate
compensation.
2. Art. 76(4) Federal Constitution:
 Parliament may for the purpose only of ensuring uniformity of law and policy make laws
with respect to…’compulsory acquisition of land.’
 LAA 1960 = a consolidation of previous state enactments on land acquisition and is
based on the Indian Land Acquisition Act 1894.
3. Land Acquisition as Inherent Right of State Authority as ‘eminent domain’.
 Modern laws on compulsory land acquisition comes from the concept of ‘eminent
domain’ under USA law.
 The government as the eminent domain has an inherent right to take and appropriate
private land belonging to citizens for public use.
 In Islam, this right is called ‘Ta’mim’ where the Islamic state may acquire private land
due to ‘maslahah ammah’. (e.g. case of the People of Bajeela)
4. Rationale for Land Acquisition?
 Doctrine of ‘salus populi suprema lex’ – the interests of the public are paramount - S.
Kulasingam & Anor. v Comm. Of Lands, FT
 Principle of ‘eminent domain’ – inherent right of the state - Charanjit Lal v Union of
India
5. Scope of Acquiring Powers
 This relates to the ‘purpose of acquisition’ in section 3 of the LAA, 1960.
 See s.3(1)(a), 3(1)(b) and 3(1) (c).
 The State Authority is not confined to acquire land only under one purpose but may
combine all.
 s. 3(1)(b) was an amendment in 1991
a)Section 3(1)(b) formerly read:
b) ‘by any person or corporation undertaking a work which in the opinion
of the State Authority is for public utility’.
c) The amended s.3(1)(b) gives a wider purpose.‘for any purpose…beneficial to
the economic development of Malaysia or any part thereof or to the public
generally or any class of the public.’
 S. 3(1)(c) also amended
a)To include ‘recreational purposes or any combination of such purposes’.
b) This would enable the acquisition of land for the building of resorts and
golf clubs as well or any other tourism type of development.
 What is meant by ‘public purpose’?
a)Yew Lean Finance Dvpt M’sia S/B v Director of Lands and Mines, Penang

2. ILYANA ISKANDAR
1. Facts:
a. The Pf purchased a piece of land in Province Wellesley in 1972
with the intention of developing it into a housing complex.
b. Its architect’s plan for the project was rejected by the District
Council on the grounds that the land was being acquired for
residential, industrial and public purpose.
c. The Pf’s contended that the land was being acquired for some
vague purpose and thus the Notice of Intended Acquisition was
null and void.
Issue:
d. Whether the notice had to particularise the specific purpose?
2. Held:
a. It would not be possible/practical to specify the exact
purpose as long as it was for public purpose.
b. There was no need for the State Authority to confine its
acquisition of land to purposes which came under one head
only i.e. either s.3(1)(a), s.3(1)(b) or s. 3(1)(c).
b) Syed Omar Alsagoff v Govt of Johore
1. Resp. had acquired some 5700 acres of land belonging to the App.,
where only 2000 acres were actually needed for the Pasir Gudang Port
project.
2. The rest of 3700 acres was marked vaguely for ‘special purposes’.
3. The App. challenged the acquisition asserting that the land was in fact
acquired for purposes other than those permitted under the LAA 1960.
4. Held: In the absence of bad faith, it is not possible to challenge that a
portion of the land to which the declaration in the Gazette relates is in
fact wanted for purposes other than those specified.Once the
declaration in Form D is published in the Gazette under s.8(1) of the LAA
1960, this is conclusive evidence that the land is needed for such
purposes in the declaration. Thus, cannot be challenged. (See s.8(3) LAA
1960)
c)S. Kulasingam & Anor. v Comm. Of Lands, FT & Ors.
1. The expresion ‘public purpose’ is incapable of a precise definition…but
in my view it is still best to employ a simple common sense test, that is,
to see whether the purpose serves the general interest of the
community
6. Acquisition of land under s.3(b) and (c) LAA 1960
 LAA 1960 - amended in 1998 to include provisions on the administrative framework for
land acquisition where it is done by application of a person/corporation under para. (b)
and/or (c) of section 3(1).

3. ILYANA ISKANDAR
 Application is made in writing to the Land Administrator who will then transmit it to the
State Economic Planning Unit (State EPU) or the FT Special Committee for Land
Acquisition.
 Condition:
a)An application for land acquisition under s.3(2) will not be approved if the
applicant had already obtained ‘development approval’ (i.e. planning
permission from the local planning authority, etc.) and the project is not for
public utility.
b) (see s.3(6))
 Requirements (s.3(3)):
a) project proposal
b) lay out and land acquisition plan
c) preliminary Government valuation report
d) fee and deposit required under the LA Rules
7. How will the State EPU/FT Special Committee decide?
 See s.3A:
a)public interest,
b) capacity & capability of applicant to carry out the project,
c)feasibility of the project,
d) the development approval granted to the applicant.
8. Possibility for Land Owner to Participate in Project
 s.3A(2) allows the State EPU/ FT Committee to consider the participation of the land
owner in the project where development proposal has been obtained and the project is
for public utility.
 S.3A (3) and (4) allows the applicant to negotiate terms with the land owner on the type
of arrangement for participation.
 If negotiations are successful, no land acquisition.
 If fails, land acquisition may proceed.
 Application then transmitted to the State Authority with State EPU/FT Committee
recomendations.
9. Special Committee for Land Acquisition
 See members of this committee listed in s.3C.
 Application for land acquisition will be considered by this committee (s.3D)before it is
approved by the State Authority under s.3E.
10. Withdrawal of Application for LA
 An applicant for land acquisition under s.3(2) may withdraw its application before the
Declaration of Intended Acquisition is gazetted under s.8 LAA 1960 by giving notice in
writing to the LA.
 Persons interested may be compensated for any inconvenience caused by the initial
application of the applicant from the deposit put in by the applicant earlier.

4. ILYANA ISKANDAR
11. Procedure for Land Acquisition
 3 stages involved
a)Pre-Acquisition
1. Under s.4(1) LAA, the State Authority will issue a Notice of
Intended Acquisition in Form A (NOTICE THAT LAND IS LIKELY
TO BE ACQUIRED). This will be published in the Gazette.
2. The LA will give public notice of Form A. How? (see s.52) – posted at the
District land office or public notice boards near the land.
3. Effect of Form A?
a. (1) Notifies the public that the said land is under
consideration by the State Authority to be
acquired for the purposes stated.
b. (2)Gives notice that an authorised person may enter into the
land to conduct survey operations. (preliminary investigations
by the State Authority).
c. (3)The State promises to compensate for any damage
caused.
i. Hong Lee Trading & Construction S/B v Taut Ying Realty
S/B
1. Held:The notification u-s.4 of the LAA 1960 is
intended to serve as a notice to the public at
large that certain land in a particular locality in
the state ‘is likely to be needed’ for any of the
purposes mentioned in section 3.
ii. When will Form A lapse?
1. See s.4(3): After 12 months if the land
described has not yet been gazetted in Form D
(Declaration of Intended Acquisition).
2. State Authority may issue fresh notification if
the first one lapses.( s.4(4))
d. Entry and Survey on Land
4) U-s.5 of the LAA 1960, entry and investigation is done
by state officials authorised by Form B (authority to
Enter and Survey)
i. Note however, the officials cannot enter any dwelling
house except after obtaining consent of the occuppier
after sending 3 days notice in writing of its intention to
do so.
ii. Honan Plantations S/B v Kerajaan N. Johor & Ors.

5. ILYANA ISKANDAR
Occuppier
of land.
RP of land,
if not
occuppier.
Persons
having
registered
interest
Other
‘interested
persons’.
Valuations/improvements on the land.
Names of persons having interest in the land.
Nature of interest and rents/profits received 3 yrs before.
1. The declaration in Form D is conclusive as to the
purpose for which the scheduled lands are
required which would mean that Parliament has
decided that the State Authority is the best
judge to determine what amounts to a purpose
which is beneficial to economic development.
e. LA to Mark Out Areas of Land to be Acquired and Note on RDT
i. 5) Under s.9 LAA 1960, after the declaration made
in Form D (s.8), the LA must mark out on a Master
Plan at the land office, the areas affected by the
acquisition and make a note of the intended
acquisition on the RDT.
f. LA to Consult Planning Authorities on Land Use
i. 6) Under s.9A, the LA must consult the State
Director of Town and Country Planning
regarding the use of the lands to be
acquired for purposes of calculating the award
of compensation.
b) Acquisition
1. Begins with the LA publishing a Notice of Enquiry in Form E fixing
the date and venue of enquiry to hear all claims to compensation
by persons interested.
a. (Note: Form E is enclosed together with the schedule in Form
D.)
b. Date for enquiry must be after 21 days of publication of Form E.
2. Service of Notice to Persons Interested
a. LA shall serve copies of Form E to: (s.11)
i.
ii. Failure to Serve Notice to RP or Those With Registered
Interests Will Not Invalidate Enquiry
iii. See proviso to s.11.
3. LA may Issue Form F requiring RP, etc. to furnish info. on land (s.11(2))
a. LA may issue Form F on the RP, etc. to furnish a statement in
writing of knowledge concerning:
c)
i.

6. ILYANA ISKANDAR
d) Post Acquisition
e)