PUTRAJAYA, 15 JULY: On October 6, the High Court will hear an appeal by Sabah Forest Industries Sdn Bhd (SFI) and China-based Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing Ltd against the High Court’s decision not to dismiss a suit filed against them by a company linked to tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary. Following case management today before Court of Appeal deputy registrar Mohd Khairi Haron, the date was set.
SFI and Lee & Man are also appealing an injunction against the Sabah government’s implementation of a new set of preconditions for granting timber licenses.
When contacted by The Edge, Muayyad Khairulmaini of Lim Chee Wee Partnership, the lawyer representing Syed Mokhtar-linked Pelangi Prestasi Sdn Bhd, confirmed the date.
Pelangi agreed to buy a 98 percent stake in SFI for RM1.2 billion from India-based pulp and paper manufacturer Ballarpur Industries Ltd in April 2018. Pelangi would take control of SFI, including all of its assets, land titles, and wood licenses, under the terms of the agreement.
Before the agreement was signed, SFI was placed in receivership and under the administration of Grant Thornton due to financial difficulties.
Pelangi went to court when the new Sabah government, led by Parti Warisan Sabah and Pakatan Harapan, which took office after the general election in May 2018, chose not to grant fresh wood licenses to SFI and instead imposed a new set of preconditions.
The previous Barisan Nasional State government agreed a month before the signing of the agreement to provide fresh timber licenses to Pelangi if it met the pact’s requirements.
In its lawsuit, Pelangi stated that it has paid SFI employees’ pay in full since March 2018, including any shortages from January to March 2018.
It claimed that salaries totaling RM23.1 million had been paid up until March 2019, indicating that it had met part of the Sabah government’s requirements.
After dismissing SFI and Lee & Man Paper’s strikeout application, the High Court allowed the suit to proceed in October 2019 and ordered the matter to go to trial.
Justice Datuk Ahmad Bache made the decision, as well as allowing the injunction to be issued./n
