SD Guthrie, Penang Development Corp settle Byram land dispute with RM241m compensation
SD Guthrie Bhd has resolved its five-year legal dispute with Penang Development Corp over the compulsory acquisition of its Byram Estate, securing an additional RM68.01 million in compensation. The total compensation for the 380-acre site now stands at about RM241 million.
PETALING JAYA (Oct 9): SD Guthrie Bhd has resolved its five-year legal dispute with Penang Development Corporation (PDC) over the compulsory acquisition of about 380 acres of its Byram Estate, securing an additional RM68.01 million in compensation.
The settlement raises the total compensation for the 18 parcels in Seberang Perai Selatan, Penang, to about RM241 million, from the RM173.15 million initially determined by the land administrator, theedgegemalaysia.com reported on Thursday (Oct 8).
Under the agreed terms, PDC will pay the RM68.01 million top-up. The settlement also provides for the release of RM37.52 million in compensation previously held by the land administrator under Section 29A of the Land Acquisition Act 1960.
The agreement resolves SD Guthrie’s judicial review challenging the legality of the acquisition, as well as 32 land reference proceedings concerning compensation. A consent judgment relating to the judicial review was recorded before High Court judge Datuk Dr Suzana Muhamad Said on Sept 25. Settlements covering the land reference proceedings were recorded before High Court judge Azlan Sulaiman on Oct 6.
The dispute followed PDC’s attempts to acquire the land in 2014. The parties subsequently pursued a proposed RM1.8 billion high-tech industrial park development in 2015, but the plan did not materialise. PDC later proceeded with the compulsory acquisition in 2020, prompting SD Guthrie, then known as Sime Darby Plantation Bhd, to challenge both the acquisition process and the compensation awarded.
The group argued that the acquisition was unlawful and constituted an improper exercise of statutory powers under the Land Acquisition Act 1960. In June 2021, the High Court granted it leave to pursue the judicial review, together with an interim stay pending a hearing of its stay application. Separately, SD Guthrie filed 17 land reference proceedings challenging the adequacy of the compensation, while PDC filed 15 proceedings contending that the land administrator’s award was excessive.
Negotiations eventually led to a settlement covering the related court proceedings. SD Guthrie’s lawyer Rosli Dahlan confirmed the settlement to theedgegemalaysia.com.
