ISMAIL BIN MAMAT v 1. ) Pentadbir Tanah Besut 2. ) Kerajaan Negeri Terengganu 3. ) Jabatan Ketua Pengarah Tanah & Galian (JKPTG)

ta-24-2-12-2024 High Court (Mahkamah Tinggi) 15 February 2026 • TA-24-2-12/2024 • 24 min read
7 cases cited (0 SG, 7 foreign)

Catchwords

Land Law — Surrender of land — Validity — Whether surrender registered after acquisition proceedings commenced was valid — Plaintiff voluntarily applied for surrender years before acquisition — Delay in registration — Whether delay amounted to bad faith — Whether procedural non-compliance under s 198(4) National Land Code vitiated surrender — Effect of continued demand and acceptance of quit rent by State — National Land Code 1965, ss 197, 198(4) Land Acquisition — Compensation — Entitlement — Registered proprietor — Plaintiff was registered proprietor at time of acquisition notice and enquiry — Plaintiff had previously applied for surrender of land — Whether plaintiff remained “person interested” under Land Acquisition Act 1960 — Whether plaintiff entitled to compensation — Land Acquisition Act 1960, s 2 Constitutional Law — Right to property — Adequate compensation — Article 13(2) of Federal Constitution — Whether deprivation of property occurred — Plaintiff had voluntarily agreed to surrender land — No entitlement to constitutional protection for property already committed to State Administrative Law — Legitimate expectation — Estoppel — Whether State’s conduct in accepting quit rent and treating plaintiff as proprietor created legitimate expectation of compensation — Whether State estopped from relying on surrender — Prior voluntary undertaking by plaintiff to surrender land — Effect Torrens System — Indefeasibility of title — Exceptions — Plaintiff’s name appeared on register — Title was subject to pending surrender application — Whether indefeasibility was absolute — National Land Code 1965, s 340(1), (2) Words and Phrases – “person interested” – Land Acquisition Act 1960, s 2 – Meaning – Registered proprietor whose title is subject to pending surrender application – Whether such proprietor retains interest in land for purposes of acquisition proceedings

Practice Areas

Judges (1)

Counsel (5)

Parties (4)

Statutes Cited

Federal Constitution
Art 13 Art 13(2)
Government Proceedings Act 1956
s 29(1)(b)
Land Acquisition Act
s 2
Rules of Court 2012

Cases Cited (7)

MY (7)
[2008] MLJU 779 [2010] 2 MLJ 1 [2013] 2 MLJ 793 [2016] 2 MLJ 543 [2017] 3 MLJ 561 [2019] MLJU 1350 [2025] 5 MLJ 768

Judgment

Read the full judgment on the official Malaysia Courts portal.

Read on eJudgment

Source: eJudgment (ta-24-2-12-2024)