KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 8): The High Court today dismissed an objection made by the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) not to allow former Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram from representing Synergy Promenade Sdn Bhd and Synergy Promenade KLVC Sdn Bhd in the suit against them and the Federal Territory Land and Mines Department.

Justice Wong Chee Lin also ordered Felda, which was represented by counsel Mong Chung Seng, to pay RM5,000 costs.

Mong had objected to Sri Ram representing the two companies, citing possible conflict of interest owing to the former Federal Court judge's role in overseeing the charging of former Felda chairman, Tan Sri Isa Samad, who is presently on trial with graft charges.

However, counsel RK Sharma, who appeared with Amrit Pal Singh and Austen Pereira for the two companies, argued that while Sri Ram might have been involved in the earlier part of Isa's prosecution, he was never involved in the trial, or interviewed any of its witnesses.

Justice Wong interjected Mong at times asking how relevant Isa's case was with regard to this suit, as the former Felda chairman's graft case involved a hotel purchase in Sarawak.

After hearing submissions, the court dismissed Felda's application after it agreed to withdraw the application but with liberty to file afresh.

"The suit was filed in 2019 where the two Synergy Promenade companies named Felda and the Federal Territory Land and Mines director as defendants in the suit in relation to the KL Vertical City project.

The two companies are seeking a declaration that they are the lawful registered owner of the respective lands, namely lot 390 and lot 29788 in KL, that Felda has no rights, interest and title on the two pieces of land and for an order against the registrar or land administrator to return the said lands to them.

On Nov 7, 2016, Felda and Synergy Promenade entered into another SPA wherein Felda agreed to sell lot 29788 to Synergy Promenade and it was eventually transferred and registered under its subsidiary.

However, on March 8, 2018, the two companies discovered the two plots were transferred back to Felda. They claimed that the transfers of the two plots are in breach of the National Land Code provision, and is defeasible pursuant to Section 340 (2)(b) of the same code and hence are seeking for the orders mentioned previously.

Editor's note: Following the publication of this article on Jan 8, Felda's solicitor Lee Hishammuddin Allen Gledhill (LHAG) clarified that at Felda's request to withdraw the application (to disqualify Sri Ram from acting as counsel for Synergy Promenade Sdn Bhd and Synergy Promenade KLVC Sdn Bhd), the Court struck out the application with liberty to file afresh. The Court therefore did not decide on whether Sri Ram could act for the two companies.