Malaysian Federal Court finds attempt to auction charge lands pursuant to National Land Code 1965 not caught by limitation
22 January 2020
RHB Bank Berhad (Mempunyai Kuasa terhadap Bank Utama (M) Berhad) v Dato’ Haji Muhammad Hamzah [2019] 1 LNS 1650
In RHB Bank Berhad (Mempunyai Kuasa terhadap Bank Utama (M) Berhad) v Dato’ Haji Muhammad Hamzah, the issue raised was whether auctioning charge lands under the National Land Code 1965 (“NLC”) is caught under section 21(1) and section 6(3) of the Limitation Act 1953 (“LA”).
The Federal Court held that section 21(1) of the LA refers to fresh actions only. Therefore, it does not capture applications to fix new auction dates as such applications are merely consequential proceedings. Equally, the Federal Court also held that section 6(3) of the LA does not apply to an Order for Sale as such an Order is not considered a judgment and is granted upon execution of a statutory remedy under section 256 of the NLC. Hence, a land security can still be enforced even after an Order for Sale has been granted more than 12 years ago.