Recent Southeast Asian Court Cases: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand

Abstract

Baseline survey of court decisions and legislation bearing on real property valuation in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, through the third quarter of 2026. Indonesia: the Hotel Sultan litigation, in which two building-use titles (hak guna bangunan) were held to have expired by operation of law and the occupier was ordered to pay royalties of US$45.4 million, the judgment being executed while administrative proceedings continue; and the voidness of nominee landholding, with Bali's 2026 regulation. Malaysia: the Semantan Estate (Duta Enclave) decision fixing compensation at the market value of the land on 3 December 1956, the date of possession, with six percent interest and mesne profits; the Land Acquisition Act 1960 scheme; Tegas Sejati and Loyal Synergy on disclosure of the assessors' written opinions to the parties; the Court of Appeal's holding that the pandemic extension of vacant-possession time was not a taking; and RHB Bank v Azmi & Co on a panel valuer's negligence. Thailand: the measure, valuation date and betterment set-off, capped at half the compensation, under the 2019 expropriation statute; the Ashton Asoke judgment on land dedicated to the purpose of its taking; and Supreme Court decisions on a divorce agreement and an estate administrator's sale. Indonesian and Thai sources were read in machine translation and are linked at the point of use; items known only from secondary reports are marked.