In Malaysian land law, the rights of registered proprietors under the Torrens system are firmly protected. But what happens when someone claims a right to remain on land they do not legally own? Can a long-term occupant resist eviction by invoking equity, tenancy, or hardship? This article draws lessons from several notable cases, shedding light […]
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Gifts, Property, and Squatters in the Family
A case study on Malaysian property and gift law, and family members who become squatters. In Butterworth, Penang, nestled along a shaded street, stood a modest house—ordinary in its appearance, extraordinary in what it had come to represent. To Madam Leong Sook Yin, it was home. To her son Christopher and his wife, it had become […]
A Cautionary Tale of Secret Trusts and Testamentary Wills
“He wanted the best for all his children… but he did not want all of them to know.” Act I: The Dying Man’s Last Wish In the final days of his life, Chin Joo Ngan lay frail and fading under the sterile lights of a hospital ward. A once-proud engineer who had built bridges and […]
Res Judicata in a Loan: The case of Asia Commercial Finance v. Kawal Teliti
KUALA LUMPUR – September 22, 1995. The courtroom was quiet, the air thick with the scent of old paper and the weight of unfinished business. On one side sat Asia Commercial Finance (M) Berhad, a company that had once been eager to fuel the dreams of a housing developer. On the other, Kawal Teliti Sdn Bhd, […]
Indefeasibility: The Fight for the Vanishing Land Title
In the quiet mukim of Batu, a parcel of land once stood as a widow’s last remaining legacy. Wong Har was not a rich woman—just someone who had held on to her little piece of Kuala Lumpur since 1975, when she bought it from a man named Yeap for RM55,000.