Sapura Group head honcho Shahril’s “surprised” court battle continues as family moves toward settlements

 

TAN SRI Shahril Shamsuddin, group CEO of Sapura Holdings Sdn Bhd, (SHSB) has expressed surprise that the legal battle with his father over a hibah (gift) claim continues in court even as efforts toward settling wider family disputes appear to be underway.

Yesterday (Dec 17), the Putrajaya Shariah High Court permitted Shahril to file a preliminary objection to his father’s application to revoke a hibah involving 14.85 million Sapura Holdings shares that were previously given to him.

Shahril who had not expected the matter to proceed given indications that other related family disputes were moving toward resolution was nevertheless granted leave to raise preliminary objections through his counsel Rafie Shafie after the court heard submissions on procedural issues surrounding the service of documents.

The hibah in question involves shares originally given to Shahril by his father Tan Sri Shamsuddin Abdul Kadir in 1997.

However, Shamsuddin who is now in his 90s filed the application to revoke the gift earlier this year, arguing that current circumstances warrant a withdrawal of the hibah.

This prompted Shahril to challenge the revocation on the basis that notice was only recently provided and that he will contest the application on legal grounds. His objection will now be considered by the Shariah High Court as part of the on-going proceedings.

The dispute has unfolded against the backdrop of broader tensions within the Sapura family, including separate legal actions between Shahril and his brother Datuk Shahriman Shamsuddin over the latter’s bid to wind up SHSB and other related matters.

Prior reports have noted that some elements of wider feud were showing signs of moving toward settlements as recently as late September with expectations that unresolved issues might be settled outside of court.

Despite these settlement discussions, the latest development highlights that legal avenues remain active and contested – a situation that has reportedly surprised Shahril given on-going negotiation efforts.

The Shariah High Court has yet to state a timetable for further hearings on Shahril’s objection or the substantive hibah revocation application. –  Focus Malaysia