Lim Boon Lin, the sole surviving trustee of the Han Chiang trust, had objected to plans to build a RM50 million Han Chiang Education City project on the land. (Han Chiang pic)PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has refused the Penang Han Chiang Associated Chinese Schools Association and two others leave to appeal against a ruling that a trustee may sue to protect trust property without first obtaining the attorney-general’s consent.

A three-member bench chaired by Justice Nordin Hassan unanimously dismissed the application, ruling that the proposed questions of law did not meet the threshold under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964.

The panel, which included Justices Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh and Azimah Omar, ordered the applicants - the association, its former chairman Tan Kok Ping, and current chairman Ooi Soo Hing - to pay RM50,000 in costs to Lim Boon Lin, the sole surviving trustee of the Han Chiang Trust.