KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — A Terengganu endowment land dispute — where the annual payout to a beneficiary is as little as RM3 — between the royal family and state Islamic council will finally be heard this Sunday at the Kuala Terengganu Syariah High Court.
The piece of land in Chendrong, measuring 25,000 hectares or almost the size of Penang Island, was awarded by the late Terengganu ruler, Sultan Zainal Abidin III, to his daughter Tengku Nik Maimunah and her husband Tengku Ngah Omar Abdul Rahim in March 1906, and was later turned into wakaf or endowment land, which under Islamic law can only be used for religious or charitable purposes.
The dispute started after some descendents of Tengku Ngah Omar became unhappy with the management of the land by the Terengganu Islamic and Malay Custom Council, and the annual payout.
The case was filed in December 2008 and, after several objections and attempts to seek an out-of-court settlement, will be heard for two days beginning Sunday.
“Hearing has been set for Sunday and Monday, the case was filed in December 2008,” lawyer for the plaintiff, Kamar Ainiah Kamaruzaman, told The Malaysian Insider.
The case will be heard before Judge Shaikh Ahmad Ismail.
There are about 462 beneficiaries of the land known as Chenderong Concession, all of them members of the Terengganu royal family.
The Yang DiPertuan Agong Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin is also one of the beneficiaries.
According to Kamar Ainiah, two of the descendents claimed that the mismanagement of the land has resulted in low returns, with some of the beneficiaries receiving only RM3 every year.
Beneficiaries of wakaf land are allowed to derive income from a small part of the property.
Kamar Ainiah said that in the application made by Tengku Zainal Akmal Tengku Besar and Tengku Hidayah Tengku Habib against the state Islamic council, some 460 families were also seeking compensation for loss of income due to unfair land lease deals.
She added that the family members were of the opinion that the land should not have been leased.
They are also seeking a declaration that all leases are null and void, and demanded that the Islamic council form a special body comprising the family members to jointly administrate the property.
Kamar Ainiah said Tis ‘Ata ‘Ashar Sdn Bhd (TAA), a company formed in 1985, is the principal leaseholder and that it had surrendered some parts of the land to be developed by Development Sdn Bhd (SPPT) without compensating the trustees.
According to documents filed in court, the company had also leased some parts of the land to TDM Capital Sdn Bhd, Manyvest Holdings, Risda or Espek, and Anglo Eastern, while SPPT Development had given its land to Mudari Holdings and Worldwide Plantation.
The descendents of Tengku Nik Maimunah have questioned why the Islamic council, as the administrator of the land, did not impose any condition to benefit the trustees.
One of the trustees, Tengku Mohammed Zainal Abidin Petra, had said that the land can potentially generate revenues of up to RM700 million with a profit of RM365 million, if the Islamic council or TAA had chosen to manage the land by itself.
The family also claimed that the council’s ownership of 17 per cent of TAA shares had raised the question of conflict of interest.
The spokesperson for the royal heirs, Tengku Mohammed Zainal Abidin Petra Tengku Besar Mahmud, has mentioned previously that he had made the claims in court to ensure that the lease agreements and ownership entitlements to be annulled, because when the agreements were made, the concession status was meant for religious purposes.
“We would also like to demand that the management of this property [be] implemented by the Majlis Agama Islam and Adat Melayu Terengganu, under one unit together with the heirs, or that the heirs manage this property themselves through the formation of a private company.
“The court claim is seen as a positive action, to protect the rights and interests of the heirs,” said Tengku Mohammed Zainal Abidin Petra.
He also noted that if one were to compare the current value of timber and palm oil, the revenue received from the land was an insult.
The Terengganu Islamic council had issued a fatwa that there are three categories of land in the Chenderong Concession — special wakaf, inheritable wakaf, and willed land.
The land cannot be sold or have its usage condition changed, but can be leased and subleased.
According to Kamar Ainiah, five months before turning their land into inheritable wakaf, Tengku Nik Maimunah and Tengku Chik, who is a brother of Tengku Ngah Omar, had leased their land to Chindee Development for 999 years.
However, the lease was shortened to 99 years on December 31, 1985.
The land was then administrated by the Commissioner of Terengganu Islamic Affairs Council, now known as Terengganu Islamic and Malay Customs Council.
Cindee Development had then leased 21,170 hectares to TAA in December 1986, 2,000 hectares to Tengku Seri Paduka Raja, and 1,960.8 hectares to Chenderong Oil Palms, while Tengku Seri Paduka Raja leased 1,848 of the land to the National Land Finance Coop.
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