By Hafiz Yatim | The Edge Markets
The Federal Court has fixed June 23 to hear former Selangor menteri besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s application for leave to appeal against the decision to allow Puncak Niaga Bhd to reinstate its RM14 billion case against him and the Selangor government.
Kahlid’s lawyer Michael Cheah confirmed the date when contacted by The Edge after case management today. “The hearing will be done via Zoom,” he said.
For civil appeals to the Federal Court, leave must first be obtained to ensure that the appeal is not frivolous and an abuse of the court process.
On Feb 11, a three-member Court of Appeal bench led by Justice Datuk Hanipah Farikullah allowed Puncak Niaga’s appeal to reinstate Khalid and the Selangor government as defendants in the lawsuit at the High Court.
The appeals court, however, disallowed the inclusion of Khalid’s successor, Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, who is now a senior federal minister, as another defendant in the suit.
It is understood that Puncak Niaga is not appealing against the decision not to reinstate Mohamed Azmin as a party to the suit.
The appeals court’s decision comes after the High Court struck out Puncak Niaga’s suit against Khalid, Mohamed Azmin and the Selangor government.
The company sued the three parties in 2017, claiming that the two former menteri besar had abused their power in public office by threatening to get the federal government to invoke the use of the Water Services Industry Act 2006 to force a takeover of Selangor’s water industry.
The Selangor government was included as a defendant on the grounds that it was vicariously liable for the acts of the menteri besar.
Puncak Niaga claimed damages, interest on damages and costs of the difference between the value of PNSB Water Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd) and Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd at the range of RM2.08 billion to RM2.35 billion and the actual purchase consideration of RM1.55 billion under a 2014 share purchase agreement between Puncak Niaga and Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd.
The group is also claiming for loss of business opportunities, both local and foreign, totalling RM13.5 billion.
