KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): The High Court here today has fixed June 4 to decide on Dhaya Maju LTAT Sdn Bhd’s injunction application to restrain the government and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) from instructing the company to stop work on the Klang Valley Double Tracking Phase 2 (KVDT2) project site.
Judge Datuk Lim Chong Fong fixed the date after hearing submissions on Dhaya Maju’s injunction application by counsel Khoo Guan Huat, who is representing Dhaya Maju as the plaintiff and senior federal counsel Asliza Ali acting for the government, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) and engineering consulting company, Opus Consultants (M) Sdn Bhd as defendants.
Before the hearing resumed, Justice Lim had asked the lawyers if they were negotiating any settlement and Khoo replied that the construction company’s representatives had met senior officials from the Treasury and Transport Ministry earlier this week.
He added that the Attorney-General Tan Sri Idrus Harun was also present during the high-level meeting.
At this juncture, Asliza stood up and confirmed that a meeting had taken place and said any decision on the issue would be deliberated by the Cabinet.
“The Attorney-General’s Chambers has been instructed to proceed with the injunction hearing,” she said.
Asliza in her submissions said that according to Section 29 of the Government Proceedings Act 1956 (Act 356), the law bars the court from issuing injunction against the government and its public servants for carrying out their official duties.
“On the balance of convenience, we say that an injunction will prevent the government from discharging its public duty. Besides that, KVDT2 would be stalled and cannot proceed,” she said.
Khoo countered that they had sought the injunction to preserve the status quo between the company and government, pending disposal of the lawsuit.
“We are contesting this termination as it is unlawful. We were terminated not because we did not do a good job. The company had never breached the terms of the contract and had provided its best service to the government. My Lord, our reputation, credibility and standing in a small and specialised industry are at stake. All these are incalculable,” he insisted.
Khoo stressed that the termination would affect the company’s bid for local and foreign projects in the future.
The court also allowed the order given on April 7 for Dhaya Maju LTAT to discontinue work and vacate the KVDT2 project site to be extended until the date of decision.
On Oct 27 last year, Dhaya Maju LTAT filed a suit against the government, Wee, KTMB and Opus Consultants respectively as defendants one to four on the termination of its contract for KVDT2 project.
In its statement of claim, Dhaya Maju LTAT among others alleged to date, the official termination notice of Contract Under Review has not been delivered to the firm and it is completely unaware of the cancellation which was made through a media statement by Wee and only got to know it for the first time via the media.
Apart from compensation, Dhaya Maju LTAT, a joint-venture company between Dhaya Maju Infrastructure (Asia) Sdn Bhd and Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) which was incorporated on June 5, 2017 under the Companies Act 2016, seeks to declare the termination of Contract Under Review as a violation of Agreement Settlement which is not legal and unlawful.
The dispute arose after Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz issued a list of 101 projects valued at RM6.61 billion awarded through direct negotiation during the administration of Pakatan Harapan and it included the KVDT2 project worth RM4.475 billion awarded to Dhaya Maju LTAT.
