The company’s lawyer, Janet Chai, said an appeal was filed on Tuesday.
“We also served an unsealed copy of the notice to the Attorney-General’s Chambers on the same day,” she told FMT when contacted.
On April 1, Justice Roslan Mat Nor dismissed Semantan’s application after hearing submissions from both parties.
Semantan had applied for the discovery of several documents, including revenue survey sheets, land survey and yield records, land acquisition plans, and documents related to land use zoning between 1956 and 1960.
It identified four government-related agencies that would likely have in their possession the documents needed to assist the court in making an assessment for compensation to be paid by the government to the company over the disputed land, known as the Duta Enclave.
In his decision, Roslan said the documents sought were not in the possession, custody, or control of the government after scrutinising the affidavits-in-reply by the agencies.
He said discovery under Order 24 of the Rules of Court 2012 applies only to documents within a party’s possession or control, and cannot be used to obtain documents that do not exist or are not in that party’s custody.
Roslan fixed Aug 14 and 21, and Sept 1 for compensation proceedings.
He also fixed Dec 16 to decide on the amount of compensation the government must pay to Semantan.
Chai said the related parties were in the midst of exchanging documents on expert reports for the assessment of damages.
Semantan’s legal battle began in 2003 when it sued the government, claiming that its 106ha parcel of land in the city had been unlawfully acquired since 1956.
The land under dispute now houses several government buildings, including the National Hockey Stadium, the National Archives, the Kuala Lumpur shariah court, the Inland Revenue Board, and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Academy.
In 2009, the High Court ruled in Semantan’s favour, but subsequent appellate decisions held that the company was not entitled to the land title.
On June 24, 2025, the Court of Appeal ruled that Semantan was instead entitled to adequate compensation, to be assessed based on the land’s value in 1956 when the government took possession of it, and ordered an assessment of mesne profits.
On Nov 13 last year, the Federal Court dismissed Semantan’s application for leave to appeal, leaving the Court of Appeal’s decision in force and paving the way for the assessment proceedings now before the High Court.