JUDGMENTBY: KANG HWEE GEE J

This is an appeal by the appellant Sykt Perusahaan Seri Connolly Sdn Bhd by way of an originating motion against the refusal of the Pengarah Tanah dan Galian, Perak to issue a qualified title to the appellant. The appeal is made purportedly under s 418 of the National Land Code 1965 which reads as follows:

Appeals to the Court

(1) Any person or body aggrieved by any decision under this Act of

the State Director, the Registrar or any Land Administrator may,

at any time within the period of three months beginning with the

date on which it was communicated to him, appeal therefrom to the

Court.

(2) Any such appeal shall be made in accordance with the provisions

of any written law for the time being in force relating to civil

procedure; and the Court shall make such order thereon as it

considers just.

(3) In this section decision includes any act, omission, refusal,

direction or order.

The alleged omission or refusal was in respect of the appellants application for a piece of land known as Lot 72656 from the State Authority.

To appreciate the appellants grievance which led to this appeal, it is necessary to set out the background to this motion in some details.

On 6 February 1974, the appellant company applied for State land. The application was accompanied with a delineated plan of the area applied for comprising of some 153,324 acres. The application was registered as Bil 11/74, in the file of the Pejabat Tanah, Daerah Kinta, Ipoh.

The application was approved by the State Executive Council on 27 November 1974 in accordance with s 81(2) of the National Land Code 1965. The land was designated as Lot 72656.

Accordingly, a Borang 5A notice was issued on the same date by the collector requiring the appellant to make the necessary payments of premium and other fees as required under s 81(1) amounting to the sum of RM1,279,494. The appellant was required to settle this sum within three months.

The appellant settled the requisite sum of RM1,279,494 on 6 June 1975 after having obtained extention of time to make the payment.

On 21 April 1977, the State Executive Council amended the approval of the land by re-delineating the area approved earlier.

On 21 December 1979, the appellant made another application for qualified titles of 1,462 subdivided lots of land over the same area that had been approved by the Executive Council earlier. The application was accompanied by a plan of the subdivided lots for the purpose of a housing scheme.

On 2 April 1980, the Executive Council approved the appellants application for the qualified titles to the 1,462 lots but revoked its earlier approval for the undivided Lot No 72656. The minutes of the Executive Councils meeting read as follows:

Per Bil 46 (1467)

Permohonan untuk memulakan Skim Perumahan dan Bangunan Perniagaan atas

Lot 72656 seluas 150 ekar Mukim Ulu Kinta.

Majlis menimbangkan Kertas Bil 334/80 dan memutuskan seperti berikut:

Majlis:

I membatalkan keputusan MMK Bil 865/29 Disember 1976 mengenai KM

Bil 1070/76 yang meluluskan Lot 72656 Mukim Ulu Kinta kepada

Syarikat Perusahaan Seri Connolly Sdn Bhd; dan

II meluluskan pemberian milik kawasan seperti ditunjuk bergarisan

tepi warna merah pada surihan (13) kepada Syarikat Perusahaan

Seri Connolly Sdn Bhd untuk bangunan (rumah kedai) dengan

dikeluarkan suratmilik berasingan mengikut pelan tataatur di Bil

(11) dengan perjanjian dan syarat-syarat yang diperakukan oleh

PTG Pk seperti tersebut di perenggan 6(II) kepada Kertas itu.

(PTG Pk 402/5-278)

On 8 May 1980, the approval was communicated to the appellant by the Pengarah Tanah dan Galian by letter wherein the appellant was informed that it was required to appoint an approved licensed surveyor to do the re

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