TNB vs Janda Baik: What the Law Actually Lets a Power Company Do to Your Land

In 2015, Tenaga Nasional Berhad started clearing forest above Janda Baik, the cool hill town in Bentong, Pahang, where Klang Valley folks go for waterfalls and glamping. TNB was building a stretch of a 500kV line from Bentong South to Lenggeng, with a 275kV spur toward Ampang.

What followed wasn't quiet. Heavy logging for the pylon route was blamed for a landslide on the Karak Highway, and rivers that resort owners and villagers depended on turned shallow and eroded. "Our main sources of income are ecotourism and farming, and we rely on the rivers," villager Mohd Rosli Norrashid told the New Straits Times in December 2016. "We are not against the project. We just want to protect the environment."

It took until 14 August 2018, after years of complaints and a local state assemblywoman getting involved, for TNB to sit with residents, agree to halt construction, and commit to finding a new alignment while the Department of Environment carried out restorative works.

Here's the uncomfortable part: what happened after that isn't clearly documented anywhere we could find. There's no public record confirming whether TNB built the line on a revised route, shelved it, or finished the original one, and no report of compensation ever paid to Janda Baik landowners specifically. We're flagging that gap honestly rather than guessing. What the dispute does show is how much power a utility has over land it doesn't own, and how little most landowners understand about it.

1. What actually happened in Janda Baik, and what we still don't know

State-level approvals for the corridor reportedly trace back to 2008, with ground works starting around 2015. The most direct alignment through the hills would apparently have saved TNB RM5 million to RM10 million against the alternatives, presumably why it was chosen first, before the environmental fallout made headlines.

This fight wasn't really about villagers refusing electricity infrastructure on principle. It was about contractors allegedly cutting corners on an approved project, and residents discovering how little leverage they had to stop the damage once works were underway.

The dispute never reached a courtroom. It was resolved, or at least paused, through public pressure and a negotiated dialogue on 14 August 2018, not a judge's ruling. That's typical of how Malaysian wayleave disputes that make the news tend to play out: the legal remedies exist on paper, but most publicised fights get settled through politics before anyone files at the High Court.

2. TNB doesn't need to buy your land. It needs a "wayleave"

Most people assume a power company either buys the land it needs outright or leaves your land alone. There's a third option that catches landowners off guard: the wayleave.

A wayleave is a statutory right for a licensed electricity utility, almost always TNB in practice, to lay and keep lines, posts and pylons on, over or under your land without buying it. Section 11 of the Electricity Supply Act 1990 (Act 447) lets a licensee "lay, place or carry on, under or over any land, other than State land," the equipment it needs, following the Act's notice procedure.

You keep your title and legal ownership; TNB only gets a permanent right of passage for its equipment, which is what separates a wayleave from compulsory acquisition under the Land Acquisition Act 1960, where the government actually takes your title. A wayleave just permanently limits what you can build or plant in the corridor.

3. Can you actually refuse?

Not outright, in most cases.

Once TNB decides it needs a line across your land, section 11 requires a written notice, but that's a heads-up with a deadline, not a request for permission. You have 14 days from receipt to object formally to the District Land Administrator (Pentadbir Tanah Daerah), who investigates and decides whether to grant the wayleave anyway.

In practice, a flat "no" almost never works, since the Land Administrator can approve the wayleave over your objection if satisfied it's genuinely needed. What an objection realistically buys you is a seat at the table: the alignment, which trees get avoided, access terms, and compensation. Janda Baik shows this in miniature. Villagers didn't stop the project through any legal veto; they got the route reconsidered through years of public pressure and a politician stepping in.

4. What notice are you legally entitled to?

The notice has to be reasonably specific, not a vague heads-up. Under section 11, the licensee must give notice "stating as fully and accurately as possible the nature and extent of the acts intended to be done," in the form set out in the Act's First Schedule. It goes to the landowner and any identifiable occupier, starting your 14-day objection window. If nobody objects, or the objection fails, a formal order authorising the works follows in the Second Schedule form.

Once a line is up, TNB doesn't repeat this whole process just to maintain it. Section 13 separately lets the utility enter the land at reasonable times to inspect, repair or upgrade the installation, and, for anyone with fruit trees or a padi plot under a line, to fell or lop vegetation in the way, provided it pays for the damage.

5. How is compensation actually worked out?

Compensation isn't a lump sum you haggle over with a TNB officer. It's assessed by the District Land Administrator, typically with a valuation referred to the Jabatan Penilaian dan Perkhidmatan Harta (JPPH) and the Ministry of Finance, and Malaysian legal commentary describes it as falling into three broad heads.

This is a valuation exercise, not a fixed published rate. There's no official "RM per metre" price list. The figure depends heavily on your land's location and value, and on how solid the supporting valuation evidence is, which is exactly where most disputes start.

6. TNB can be forced to pay properly, but not to back off

Malaysian courts that have dealt with TNB wayleave disputes recently show a fairly consistent pattern: judges hold TNB to account on how much and how promptly it pays, but generally don't second-guess whether the wayleave itself was justified.

In Dusunku Sdn Bhd v Tenaga Nasional Bhd [2022] 7 MLJ 11, a Kedah landowner's compensation was raised on appeal from RM188,672.40. When TNB refused to pay, the High Court held it had to pay or seek judicial review, not simply ignore the ruling.

More recently, the Court of Appeal ruled in Lambang Kelana Sdn Bhd v Tenaga Nasional Berhad & Ors (Putrajaya, May 2025) that a landowner is owed late-payment interest, reportedly RM547,105, when TNB delays transmission-line compensation, rejecting a narrow reading of sections 11 and 16(2) and citing Article 13(2) of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees adequate compensation for compulsorily used property.

Don't read these cases as "you can beat TNB in court," though. Both were fights over the amount and timing of payment, not over whether TNB was entitled to the wayleave at all.

7. Bought land that already had a pylon on it? You're probably stuck with it

In Mohd Azman bin Yaacob v Tenaga Nasional Berhad, the buyer purchased a subdivided plot in 2017 that already had TNB infrastructure on it, authorised decades earlier in 1979 under the old Electricity Act 1949 (ESA 1990's predecessor). He sued TNB for trespass, arguing he was entitled to fresh compensation as the new owner. The Court of Appeal disagreed, and in June 2025 the Federal Court declined to hear a further appeal.

A wayleave obtained decades ago doesn't reset just because the land changes hands, and a buyer who could see the pylons before signing has a weak argument for compensation nobody promised them. If you're buying land near a transmission corridor, get a land search checking for a wayleave endorsement, and ask TNB directly before you sign, not after.

8. Does living under a pylon actually hurt your property value?

It depends where you are, more than most people expect. A Klang Valley study by EdgeProp comparing homes at different distances from transmission infrastructure in Segambut, Petaling Jaya, Sri Hartamas and Bandar Sri Damansara found a real price gap in some areas, with Segambut and PJ properties closest to the lines pricing noticeably lower per square foot, but almost no gap in the other two, where neighbourhood quality and amenities seemed to matter more.

There's no single Malaysia-wide discount you can quote a valuer. Proximity to a line is one factor among several, and in a sought-after neighbourhood it can end up a rounding error.

What to actually do

If TNB has just served you a wayleave notice:

• Note the exact date you received it. Your 14 days to object run from receipt.
• Lodge a written objection with the District Land Administrator (Pejabat Tanah Daerah) if you disagree with the alignment or the compensation offered.
• Call TNB Careline (15454, or 1300-88-5454) for the specific alignment plan affecting your lot, not just the general project brochure.

If you think the compensation offered is too low:

• Get your own independent valuation, especially for valuable trees, crops or structures in the corridor.
• Check the offer covers all three heads: disturbance, damage and disability.
• If the figure still doesn't reflect your loss, appeal to the State Authority within 21 days. Under Lambang Kelana, you may also be owed interest if TNB delays paying.

If you're buying land near a transmission line or substation:

• Do a land search and ask specifically whether a wayleave is registered. Silence in the sale and purchase agreement isn't the same as no wayleave.
• Ask TNB for the corridor width and any building or planting restrictions before you commit.
• Don't assume you can reopen compensation after purchase. Courts have so far treated an existing wayleave as sticking with the land, not the seller.

If a line already runs over land you farm or use:

• Short-cycle crops, grazing, water catchment or parking are generally allowed, but you need the landowner's consent and TNB's written approval, and plantings are typically capped around 1.8 metres.
• There's no such thing as official "TNB reserve land" that TNB owns. It's still your land with a use restriction, so don't let anyone tell you otherwise when negotiating.