KUALA LUMPUR: SMK Convent Bukit Nanas (CBN) has ended its legal bid to keep its premises along Jalan Bukit Nanas after the school received an official letter extending its land lease for another 60 years.
Counsel Damien Chan, who represented the 122-year-old school's operator, Lady Superior of the Society of Saint Maur, said they had received a letter from the Federal Territories Land and Mines Office on the matter on Monday.
"Following the recent development, we have filed a notice of discontinuance of proceedings in court," he said when contacted today.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO), on April 22, decided to extend the lease for CBN which was due to expire in September, by another 60 years.
The PMO in a statement said the matter was decided upon after taking into account the school's numerous contributions towards education in the country since 1899.
The PMO, however, said that this approval was only given for the purpose of education.
It also said that the decision was reached after Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali and Federal Territories Land and Mines Office director Datuk Muhammad Yasir met the Lady Superior of the Society of Saint Maur, Theresa Chua Siu Yan, who represented the school's board of governors and trustees.
On April 7, the Lady Superior of the Society of Saint Maur was granted an application for leave for judicial review to challenge the government's decision not to extend the school's land lease under its name.
The school had reportedly written to the Land Office on Oct 4, 2017, to seek an extension of the land lease but on Dec 18 last year they received a reply that it would not be renewed.
Since the issue came to light, petitions have been introduced on social media calling for CBN to be preserved as an operating school on the site as well as a national heritage site.
The Federal Territories Land and Mines Office subsequently said that SMK Convent Bukit Nenas would not be demolished. However, it said that the land would be returned to the government after its lease expires so that the facility could be gazetted as a fully-aided government school.