Su (second from left) flanked by his co-author Pang Kong Leng on his right and colleague Justice Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh on his left at the book launch recently. Also at the launch was CLJ Law managing director Rostina Gaus. — Photos provided
IN Malaysia, land acquisition law is supposed to be clear, fast and predictable. Instead, landowners and lawyers are often left navigating conflicting court decisions that make it difficult to know when, or even whether, a case is worth pursuing at all.
These conflicts, say High Court judge Su Tiang Joo, have created a level of uncertainty that goes beyond legal technicalities.
When judicial decisions pull in different directions, he says lawyers are unable to give clear advice to their clients, courts are left choosing which precedent to follow and landowners are forced to weigh legal risks without any assurance of how the law will be applied ultimately.
“If we are doing justice, people want to be certain, don’t they?
“If you go and see a lawyer, you want the answer to be yes or no, and if you get the answer maybe, you wouldn’t like it, would you?” Su says.
The legal framework for land acquisition law prioritises speed and efficiency, but as the judge points out, that emphasis on speed has collided with questions of fairness, procedure and constitutional property rights – questions which the courts have not always spoken with one voice on.
It is this gap between principle and practice that Su hopes to narrow through the second edition of his book The Law on Land Acquisition, co-authored with lawyer Pang Kong Leng and launched late last year.
The new additions to the second edition of the book, he says, are based on an analysis of the “90-over” judgements that have come forward after the first edition, mapping where the law has diverged, explain why those divergences matter and offer a coherent way of thinking about how future cases might be approached.
“In this book, I’ve given my opinion, which I hope that maybe the federal court can take into account,” says Su.
Su: Consistency is important in dealing with land matters in court.
'We have to be consistent'
One of the contentious areas concerns the right to intervene in land acquisition appeals.
As Su explains, the state is the one who typically undertakes the acquisition of land for public purposes, even if the project will be carried out by a private concessionaire, such as a highway operator.These private entities are not formal parties at the early stages, but they may bear the financial consequences of compensation awards.
“So the private concessionaires might not be happy with the amount of compensation that is paid, and at the Court of Appeal, they might want to come in to intervene and say, we want to be heard because it will affect us financially.
“Currently, there are two Federal Court positions that are in conflict with one another; one say you can intervene, one say you cannot.”
The result, says Su, is that lower courts are theoretically left to decide which position they choose to follow.
For landowners, this uncertainty translates directly into risks, while for lawyers, it makes advising clients an exercise in probability rather than principle.
“I think this book, in a way, will help the decision-makers and all those people who are practising this area of the law to highlight these two cases.
“And the Federal Court, if an opportunity is given to them, can then say, yes, we have to be consistent,” says Su.
His opinion is clear: private concessionaires, having entered the process with full knowledge of the legal framework’s priority on speed, should not be allowed to intervene on appeal.
Complex case: The legal framework for land acquisition prioritises speed, but that emphasis has raised questions of fairness. — The Star
Another issue that crops up is the treatment of procedural requirements under the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act 2016. Land acquisition involves fundamental liberty rights under the Federal Constitution; “you cannot take away my property without adequate compensation.” Thus, some appellate courts have held that the procedures must be followed strictly in order to safeguard the relevant fundamental rights.
“So, even if a notice in a particular form is not issued, that’s it, the acquisition process is invalidated.”
Other courts have taken a more flexible approach, saying some procedural non-compliance is fine as long as there is no substantial injustice.
Once again, this difference leaves landowners facing uncertainty when choosing whether to challenge an acquisition on procedural grounds or not.
“Every step the lawyer needs money, they have fees to repay,” Su says.
‘The law is to protect us’
Another issue Su addresses in the latest edition of his book is on the role of the assessors during the court process.
A Federal Court decision previously clarified that the opinions of assessors – one private valuer and one appointed by the government to assist the court in land reference proceedings – must be included in the appeal record.
This has since been interpreted in a recent 2025 decision to mean that the assessors’ opinions must be given to the parties at the High Court level.
While this decision strengthens transparency, Su believes such requirements for disclosure may delay hearings, particularly if parties seek time to respond or if assessors are unavailable at later dates. The development illustrates how efforts to enhance fairness can sometimes work against the goal of speedy disposal for land acquisition matters, he adds.
Beyond such disputes involving the legal process, Su says land acquisition law is also evolving in ways that affect a broader range of the public, involving laws other than the Land Acquisition Act such as the Strata Titles Act 1985.
“More and more people are living in flats, condominiums and apartments. You’ll be surprised that (something like) condominiums can also be acquired (for public purpose).
“Public purpose is very wide, they might need your unit or they might need a whole block.”
This then raises questions about how compensation should be calculated, including whether common areas such as swimming pools, gymnasiums and other shared facilities are taken into account.
That is why, Su says, he has included a whole chapter dedicated to discussing this matter in the new edition of his book.
Gaus: Lay people will not know about their legal recourses unless they understand how the law protects us and what it allows them to do.
For the publisher of the book, CLJ Law, the value of such works lies not only in serving legal practitioners, but in equipping lay people with enough understanding to engage meaningfully with legal processes that affect their lives.
“The law is meant to protect our rights,” says CLJ Law managing director Rostina Gaus.
“But lay people will not know about their legal recourses unless they understand how the law protects us and what it allows them to do.
“Ultimately, it is all about knowledge,” she adds.
