Puncak Niaga to appeal cancellation of suit

Executive chairman Rozali Ismail says Puncak Niaga's lawyers will file appeal after suit against Khalid Ibrahim, Azmin Ali and Selangor govt was dismissed.

SHAH ALAM: Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd (Puncak Niaga) will file an appeal against the Shah Alam High Court ruling here which cancelled a RM14 billion suit against former Selangor menteri besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and two other parties on the water industry restructuring in Selangor.

Also named as defendants in the case were Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali and the Selangor government.

Puncak Niaga executive chairman Rozali Ismail in a statement today said the company had instructed its lawyers to file an appeal at the Court of Appeal in the near future.

Yesterday, Justice Akhtar Tahir allowed Khalid, Azmin and the Selangor government’s applications to cancel the Puncak Niaga suit, filed last year.

The decision was made after Akhtar found that Puncak Niaga’s claim statement failed to comply with the Rules of Court and he ordered the water concessionaire to pay RM25,000 to each defendant.

Azmin also filed a counter-claim against Puncak Niaga and the court fixed March 13 for a decision.

In a statement of claim filed on Oct 27 last year, Puncak Niaga, among others, allegedly accused Khalid and Azmin of abusing their power as menteri besar by threatening to cause or apply or attempt to cause the federal government to use the Water Services Industry Act (WSIA) 2006 to force the acquisition of the water services industry in Selangor.

The plaintiff, among others, had allegedly claimed that the suspension of negotiations on the restructuring efforts of the water industry in Selangor for five years had been to Khalid’s and Azmin’s personal political benefit, as well as claiming the negotiations were not made on the basis of “willing buyer willing seller” causing the plaintiff to suffer losses and damages.

In this regard, Puncak Niaga demanded damages, benefits on damages and costs associated with losing business opportunities locally and abroad, amounting to RM13.5 billion.

At the same time, the plaintiff also sought damages on 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 rates of RM2.08 billion to RM2.35 billion .

Additionally, the plaintiff demanded a real purchase consideration of RM1.56 billion under the Share Purchase Agreement dated Nov 11, 2014 between Puncak Niaga and Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd. -FMT