Semantan Estate files fresh suit seeking sale of RM13b Duta Enclave land or recompense

Government buildings are seen in the Duta Enclave in Kuala Lumpur on July 24, 2024. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin

By Malay Mail

First Published: Monday, 12 Oct 2026 11:05 AM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — Semantan Estate (1952) Sdn Bhd has initiated new legal proceedings against the federal government, seeking a court order to compel the sale of the 263.272-acre Duta Enclave in Kuala Lumpur and distribute the proceeds, or award compensation based on its current market value, estimated between RM12 billion and RM13 billion.

The company, which is in members’ voluntary liquidation and represented by liquidator Jim Lai, maintains that it remains the lawful beneficial owner of the prime land, despite earlier appellate rulings that barred it from regaining physical possession or securing a re-transfer of the registered land title.

In its statement of claim filed in the High Court through law firm AG Kalidas Doris & Nada, Semantan Estate asserted that the government continues to occupy and commercially benefit from the prime parcel, notwithstanding a definitive 2009 court judgment declaring that the original colonial-era acquisition was void from the outset, FMT reported.

The lawsuit names the federal government, the Federal Lands Commissioner, and five other federal land administrators and registrars as defendants.

The disputed site, acquired between 1956 and 1958 purportedly to establish a diplomatic quarter, was instead developed for other state purposes.

Today, the prime tract houses major administrative complexes, including the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex, federal ministry offices, commercial developments, and vital road infrastructure.

Semantan Estate argues that Putrajaya holds the land, or at minimum its registered title, on constructive trust for the company and should be compelled to auction or sell the asset on the open market, with all net proceeds remitted to the plaintiff.

The company contended that awarding compensation pegged to the land’s 1956 historical valuation would strip it of virtually all economic value. Its provisional assessment of the site's value at the time of the original takeover stood at roughly RM1.58 million.

The plaintiff is also seeking equitable compensation for alleged breach of trust, general damages for the deprivation of constitutional property rights under Article 13 of the Federal Constitution, and restitution for unjust enrichment derived from the state's uninterrupted occupation over the past seven decades.

The fresh writ follows significant legal setbacks for the liquidator last year.

In June 2025, the Court of Appeal overturned a High Court directive that had instructed the land registrar to re-register the title under Semantan Estate’s name.

The appellate bench instead directed that damages be assessed based on the land's value as of Dec 3, 1956, accompanied by statutory interest at 6 per cent per annum under the former Land Acquisition Enactment.

The Federal Court subsequently rejected the company's application for leave to appeal that decision in November 2025.

Semantan Estate maintains that its new action introduces distinct legal causes of action based on trust law, equitable remedies, and constitutional restitution, separate from its earlier administrative attempts to enforce title re-transfer.

The suit has been fixed for its first case management before High Court Judge Anand Ponnudurai on Nov 3.