SHAH ALAM, Jan 26 — The High Court here set Feb 22 to decide on the application filed by former Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and the Selangor government to strike out the RM14 billion lawsuit filed by Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd (Puncak Niaga) in regard to the restructuring of the state’s water industry.
Judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir set the date after hearing further submissions from the plaintiff, Puncak Niaga, and the two defendants, on two issues, today.
The two issues are whether the principle of law relating to tort of misfeasance in public office does not apply when Malaysia has the Government Proceedings Act 1956, and the clarification of the meaning of “public official”.
Earlier, lawyer Gopal Sreenevasan representing Puncak Niaga submitted that the interpretation of ‘public official’ as stated in the Government Proceedings Act and Interpretation Act 1967 could not be applied in the application since the country already had a Common Law to fall back on.
Lawyer Datuk Nik Suhaimi Nik Sulaiman representing the Selangor government, on the other hand, submitted that it was not wrong to define “public official” by using the Interpretation Act because the plaintiff’s claim involved misfeasance in public office.
“Menteri Besar or Prime Minister is not included in the civil-servant-holding-public-office category because their posts do not come under “Public Services” as defined in Article 132 of the Federal Constitution.
“On the Government Proceeding Act, it applies to us (state government) because the plaintiff made a claim against us based on vicarious liability,” he said.
In November and December last year, Abdul Khalid and the Selangor government each filed an application to strike out the suit filed by the water supply company, which also named the current Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali as a defendant.
In his application, Abdul Khalid said among others that he believed the plaintiff’s action against him was an allegation of misfeasance in public office.
The former menteri besar claimed that at all material times, he was not a public official under relevant laws such as the Government Proceedings Act 1956, Interpretation Act 1948 & 1967, Selangor State Constitution 1959 and the Federal Constitution.
The Selangor government, on the other hand, stated that the plaintiff’s action against it under the Government Proceedings Act was a misconception in law, besides the fact that the plaintiff had no locus standi to proceed with the suit.
In the suit filed on Oct 27 last year, Puncak Niaga among others claimed that Abdul Khalid and Mohamed Azmin had abused their power by threatening to cause the Federal Government to invoke the Water Services Industry Act 2006 to force the takeover of the water services industry in Selangor.
The company is claiming damages, interest and costs over loss of business opportunities in the country and abroad, totalling RM13.5 billion.
It is also seeking damages, interest on damages and cost 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 (Syabas) at the range of RM2.08 billion to RM2.35 billion.
The company is also seeking actual purchase consideration of RM1.56 billion under the share purchase agreement dated Nov 11, 2014, between Puncak Niaga and Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd. — Bernama
