Mohd. Hishamudin Mohd. Yunus J:

This is a land reference case under s. 38 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1960 . The property in question is Lot No. 1830, located in the Mukim of Kuah, District of Langkawi, Kedah (the "subject lot"), and having an area of 12,251 square feet. It is a freehold land, and the category of land use is that of 'building'. The date of acquisition is 17 October 1991. The award of the collector was RM13.65 per square foot. The applicants/owners were dissatisfied with the award. They contended that the award should have been RM20 per square foot.

Both sides had submitted a valuation report prepared by their respective valuer. However, at the commencement of the hearing of this case, the learned Counsel for the applicants, Encik Tan Chen Sing, objected to the admissibility of the respondent's valuation report (i.e. the report of the government valuer) on the ground that it was served on the applicants only ten days before the date of hearing instead of the twenty-one days, and therefore there was noncompliance with Practice Direction No. 11 of 1987. After having given the Senior Federal Counsel, appearing for the respondent, the opportunity to reply, I uph