Can a company nominate anyone to the JMB committee?

Winning the most votes in a JMB committee election does not necessarily secure a seat. A candidate must first be legally eligible to stand for election.

In the Geo38 Residence dispute, the High Court upheld the invalidation of four corporate nominees despite their receiving the highest votes. It also decided that the remaining eligible candidates should be recognised as elected, rather than requiring the development to hold another AGM.

The High Court at Kuala Terengganu delivered its decision on 14 September 2026 in Badan Pengurusan Bersama Geo38 Residence & Ors v Presiden Tribunal Pengurusan Strata and two related judicial review proceedings.

What happened in this JMB committee election?

Seven candidates stood for election at the development’s sixth AGM. Companies that owned parcels nominated four of them. The other three were individual parcel owners.

The four corporate nominees received the highest votes. A challenge to their eligibility reached the Strata Management Tribunal, which found their nominations invalid but directed the JMB to hold a fresh AGM.

Both sides challenged aspects of that outcome. The corporate nominees disputed their disqualification, while the three individual owners argued that the Tribunal should recognise them as the elected committee members.

Who qualifies for a JMB committee election?

The Strata Management Act 2013 allows a corporate parcel owner to nominate an individual for a JMB committee election. However, the High Court held that this provision enables a company to participate through a genuine representative. It does not allow a company to lend its ownership qualification to an unrelated outsider.

The Court upheld the Tribunal’s findings concerning the absence of a genuine relationship between the nominees and the companies they purported to represent.

There were also material errors in the nomination forms. Three forms described the nominees as owners of parcels that actually belonged to companies. Another form left the ownership field blank and was inconsistent about the owner’s identity.

The Court treated these as errors affecting eligibility, rather than minor paperwork mistakes. A company resolution could not retrospectively rewrite a materially inaccurate nomination form. Filing documents with the JMB or Commissioner of Buildings did not, by itself, establish eligibility either.

Previous unchallenged elections did not validate the nominations. Nor could the number of votes received cure a failure to meet the statutory requirements.

Must a disputed JMB committee election lead to another AGM?

The Court held that it was not necessary in these circumstances.

Removing the four invalid nominations left three eligible candidates for four positions. There was no finding that the AGM notice, quorum or voting process was fundamentally defective.

The Court therefore set aside the direction for a fresh AGM and recognised the three remaining candidates as duly elected. It sent the matter back to the Tribunal only to give effect to that declaration and make the necessary consequential orders.

What should owners and management bodies take note of?

Before accepting a corporate nomination, identify the company that owns the parcel, the person it has nominated and the basis on which that person represents it. Check the ownership record, nomination form and company authorisation together. Do not treat a document appointing someone as a proxy as automatically establishing eligibility for election.

Candidates should state their capacity accurately. If the company owns the unit, the nominee should not complete the form as though the unit belongs to them personally. Resolve discrepancies before the election instead of assuming a later resolution will put matters right.

When someone disputes a JMB committee election, keep the nomination forms, supporting documents, AGM minutes and vote count. The outcome may depend on whether the problem affects particular candidates or the entire meeting. An invalid nomination does not automatically mean that every part of the AGM must be repeated.

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