KOTA KINABALU: The High Court here has struck out an application for judicial review by Grant Thorton, the official receiver for defunct Sabah Forest Industries (SFI) against the Chief Minister and state government move to acquire 15 parcels of land held by SFI.
Grant Thornton had applied for a judicial review, claiming that Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and the Sabah Government had acted in bad faith (mala fide) when the latter acquired some 15 parcels of land previously owned by SFI.
In striking out the application, Kota Kinabalu High Court judge Justice Maslinda Mohd Ainal allowed the Chief Minister’s preliminary objection that Grant Thornton had failed to name the Governor of the State of Sabah (the "TYT") as a respondent.
Counsel for Chief Minister and the state government Tengku Datuk Fuad Tengku Ahmad said that under the Sabah Land Acquisition Ordinance, it is the TYT (acting on advice) that determines whether land should be acquired for public purposes.
“Therefore, because the Land Acquisition Ordinance stipulates the TYT as the ultimate decision maker, it is a requirement that the TYT be named as a respondent to the judicial review proceedings.
“Failure to name the TYT as a respondent is fatal and renders the judicial review application liable to be struck out,” he said after the decision.
The 15 parcels of land, comprising some 13,000ha of industrial and Acacia Mangium plantation land were acquired by the Sabah Government in 2021 and 2022 under the "Sustainable Forest Timber Utilisation, Processing, Management, Conservation Research and Development, District of Sipitang" public purpose scheme.
SFI ceased operations in 2016 and was subsequently wound-up on Nov 15, 2021, for being unable to pay its debts. The Court of Appeal has since upheld the legality of SFI being wound-up.
Fuad said that the High Court ruling allows the Sabah Government to move ahead with the implementation of its scheme to enable the economy of Sipitang to be revived through the targeted development and investment in the District’s timber industry,
Fuad and Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin appeared for the Chief Minister and the Sabah Government while AG Kalidas, Jeyan Marimuthu, S. Vanugopal and Jane Marimuthu appeared for Grant Thornton and SFI.
