JUDGMENT
Introduction
[1] There were two appeals before this court. They related to an application for judicial review made by the PNSB Acmar Sdn Bhd, the 1st respondent in both cases. At the High Court, PNSB Acmar successfully obtained an order declaring (among others) that a notice of withdrawal of a compulsory acquisition of a portion of its land was null and void.
[2] The appellants in both the appeals before us sought to challenge the decision of the High Court. In Appeal No 451, the appellants were the Director of Land and Mines for the state of Selangor and the land administrator for the district of Klang. In Appeal No 471, the appellant was the Director General of the Department of Land and Mines of the Federal Government.
[3] We dismissed Appeal No 451 but allowed Appeal No 470. The reasons for our decision are set out here. This is the judgment of the court.
Material Facts
Notice Of Compulsory Acquisition
[4] PNSB Acmar owned a piece of land in Klang. On 16 February 2017, it received notice in Form D prescribed under the Land Acquisition Act 1960 that 0.8401 hectares of its land was to be compulsorily acquired for the purposes of the construction of the LRT 3 project, which is intended to connect Klang to the existing light rail network in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya. The paymaster agency was Prasarana Malaysia Berhad.
Enquiry And Issuance Of Form H
[5] An enquiry was held in accordance with the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act 1960 and the amount of compensation awarded to the 1st respondent was RM266,972,147. The relevant Form H was issued on 21 February 2018.
The Notice Of Withdrawal
[6] On 3 July 2018, the Prime Minister's department wrote to the Director General of Land and Mines (the appellant in Appeal No 470), informing him that the subject land was surplus to requirements and that the Bandar Baru Klang station would now be constructed on lands already acquired. On 7 September 2018, the district land administrator of Klang issued a notice of withdrawal from acquisition in the prescribed form. The notice of withdrawal was subsequently published in the Selangor Government gazette on 11 October 2018.