JUDGMENTBY: HASHIM YEOP A SANI J, ABDOOLCADER J

HASHIM YEOP A SANI J This is an application for a number of declarations which if granted will have the effect of rendering all proceedings taken by the defendants under the Land Acquisition Act, 1960 null and void. A brief summary of the background facts may be necessary.

The first plaintiff is the sole surviving trustee of the land described in the document of title Grant No. 6444 Lot 5 section 42 in the town of Kuala Lumpur. The second plaintiff is a registered society under the Societies Act, 1966 which is principally a sporting and cultural body. It is also said to be one of the oldest sporting clubs in this country bearing the name of Tamilians Physical Culture Association (T.P.C.A.) formed in 1914. The said land was a grant from the Sultan of Selangor to the T.P.C.A. made on March 5, 1915 and was expressly granted for use of the T.P.C.A. as a recreational ground. The land is approximately 5 acres in area and situated at the junction of Jalan Raja Muda and Jalan Doctor Latiff and surrounded by residential and institutional buildings namely the General Hospital and the Medical Research Centre.

The said land has been used as a sports stadium with a turfed hockey cum football field, two tennis courts and terraced stadium seating. A two storey brick clubhouse also stands on the said land. The stadium can accommodate about 7,000 spectators and in fact has been the venue for several international sporting events including the Third World Cup for Hockey in 1975 and the Inter-Continental Hockey Meet recently.

There are many other sports clubs in Kuala Lumpur for example the Suleiman Club, the Kilat Club, the Royal Selangor Golf Club to mention only a few but of these only the Merdeka Stadium is operated by the Government. It would appear that all the other sporting clubs are for members use only except the T.P.C.A. Club and a few others which also cater for the public generally. Therefore the T.P.C.A. is indeed a sporting club used by people of all races and walks of life. It is stated in the affidavit of the honorary secretary of the T.P.C.A. sworn on August 27, 1981 that the T.P.C.A. stadium caters for the sporting and recreational facilities of the public generally. The plaintiffs also contend that it is in a better position to cater for the public than the Merdeka Stadium. It is also emphasised by the plaintiffs that the T.P.C.A. membership is multi-racial and it has a total of 606 members with associate membership of 87 Chinese, 123 Malays, 44 Indians and 11 others.

By Gazette Notification No. 2983 dated May 21, 1981 the Government commenced proceedings to acquire the said land under the Land Acquisition Act, 1960. The acquisition was stated expressly to be for "the purpose of building a hockey stadium." The Government then proceeded with the various steps provided for under the said Act and had in fact served certain forms of notices on the plaintiff namely Forms E, F, K and I, under the said Act. The Collector of Land Revenue had also fixed the date of hearing of the claims for compensation on July 29, 1981.

However, when the plaintiffs took out summons-in-chambers for an interim injunction on July 24, 1981 the defendants discovered that neither the Collector of Land Revenue nor any other authority had made a notation of the intended acquisition on the said title as required under the Land Acquisition Act, 1960. This in fact was verified by the affidavit of John R. Gurusamy dated July 24, 1981 who made an official search of the document of title in the Land Office concerned. Subsequently the Assistant Collector of Land Revenue brought the matter to the attention of the Registrar of Titles of the Federal Territory who then entered a note of the intended acquisition on the register of titles of the said land on July 28, 1981.

The defendants maintain firmly in their affidavits that there is an immediate public need for an astroturfed playing field of international standards

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