Dhaya Maju obtains court order to prevent being booted off KVDT2 project site

 

The Court of Appeal granted an interim court order that would prevent Dhaya Maju LTAT Sdn Bhd from being ousted from the Klang Valley Double Tracking (KVDT2) rail project site.

The contractor was awarded an Erinford injunction during proceedings earlier today in relation to its suit to prevent the government from terminating its contract for the project.

In effect, this meant that Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB), one of the parties being sued by Dhaya Maju, cannot boot the contractor off the KVDT2 project site.

The order is in effect pending disposal of Dhaya Maju’s related appeal also before the Court of Appeal.

The other three defendants in the matter are the government, Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong, and engineering consultant firm Opus Consultants (M) Sdn Bhd.

The government’s legal representative, Senior Federal Counsel Asliza Ali, today confirmed that the Court of Appeal allowed the application by Dhaya Maju.

Under the law, an Erinford injunction can be granted by the court to safeguard the status quo between parties, pending disposal of the legal matter.

“(The Court of Appeal) allowed the Erinford (injunction) application.

“The Erinford (injunction) is in effect until appeal (before the Court of Appeal) on (further) injunction,” Asliza said, adding that the main appeal before the Court of Appeal is fixed for case management on Sept 7.

Dhaya Maju’s main appeal before the Court of Appeal is over the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s refusal to grant an injunction to bar the government and KTMB from ordering the company to stop work on the KVDT2 site, pending disposal of the main suit before the High Court.

The contractor currently has two legal actions pending at the Kuala Lumpur High Court in relation to its challenge against the government’s attempt to cancel its contract over KVDT2. One of them is a judicial review while the other is a writ of summons.

Today’s Court of Appeal ruling is specifically linked to Dhaya Maju’s writ action that seeks to challenge the validity of a purported government letter dated Sept 23 last year, that confirmed the decision to terminate the company’s contract for KVDT2.

This specific suit listed the Transport Minister, the government, KTMB and Opus Consultants as the four defendants.

When contacted, Dhaya Maju's counsel Khoo Guan Huat also confirmed the outcome of today's Court of Appeal proceedings.

In a media statement issued later today, Dhaya Maju confirmed the outcome of the Court of Appeal matter.

Balance of convenience

The company said that the Court of Appeal has unanimously directed that KTMB be restrained and/or prevented from taking further steps to enforce the revocation of the licence for the company to occupy the KVDT2 project site.

“DM-LTAT’s (Dhaya Maju) counsel highlighted that the appeal would be rendered nugatory if the respondents are allowed to revoke the Licence to Occupy.

“The balance of convenience lies in favour of DM-LTAT, particularly as DM-LTAT would suffer irreparable harm to its business survival and other third parties whilst the government only stands to lose monetarily.

“Additionally, DM-LTAT’s counsel drew the (Court of Appeal) panel’s attention to the issue that Section 29 of the Government Proceedings Act does not bar any person from seeking an injunction at an interlocutory stage,” the company said.

Besides the suit over the termination letter, the other Dhaya Maju civil action involves a judicial review seeking to nullify the minister’s decision to cancel the KVDT2 contract and to reopen the tender.

The judicial review action is pending before a separate Kuala Lumpur High Court.

In August 2020, Wee announced that the government would reopen the tender for the KVDT2 rail project, claiming that investigations found the RM4.475 billion price tag for the project was too high, despite cost-cutting measures made by the previous Pakatan Harapan administration.

The project came under the spotlight after Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz revealed details of the 101 contracts that were purportedly awarded through a direct negotiation process during the time Pakatan Harapan was in power.

The KVDT2 contract, in terms of value, was the largest on the list. - Mkini