JUDGMENT

Abdul Hamid Mohamad JCA:

By a sale and purchase agreement dated 9 July 1991 between the respondent (plaintiff in the High Court) and the trustees of the estate of Syed Hassan bin Ahmad Alattas, the respondent purchased the whole of lot 1471 held under grant No. 26977 for the sum of RM24,000,000. The purchase was on an "AS IS" basis, without vacant possession and subject to all existing occupiers: squatters, tenants and/or claimants. The sale and purchase agreement was subsequently approved by Johor Bahru High Court by an order dated 29 February 1992 with a term under cl. 1(d)(vii) as follows:

tanah tersebut mesti dijual secara "as is" tanpa milikan kosong (vacant possession) termasuk segala apa jenis encumbrances terhadapnya termasuk kaveat, setinggan, penyewa serta apa-apa tuntutan terhadapnya.

The respondent obtained the registered-ownership of the said land on 21 January 1994. It appears that soon after that the respondent commenced proceedings for vacant possession against the existing occupiers, the suit that gives rise to this appeal was filed on 1 August 1996. In this suit the respondent claims possession of about 10,000 sq. ft. of land occupied by the appellant.

In