The Federal Court will direct the appellate court which set aside an order for the Pahang menteri besar to pay RM65 million in damages and interest to a logging company for breach of contract to prepare its grounds of judgment.

Chief Judge of Malaya Arifin Zakaria, who sat with Federal Court judges Hashim Yusoff and Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, said today that the apex court's registrar would write to the three-member panel to prepare their grounds.

The court made the order today after being told that three letters were sent to the secretaries of justices Zaleha Zahari, Sulaiman Daud and Jeffrey Tan Kok Wha requesting for the grounds, but there was no response.

azlan The first letter was sent on Oct 12 last year, three days after the decision  in the appeal was handed down and two subsequent reminders followed on Dec 8 last year and Feb 24 this year.

Lawyer Karpal Singh representing the company, Seruan Gemilang Makmur Sdn Bhd, said he needed their grounds of judgment to prepare the leave application.

He said Zaleha had indicated at the conclusion of the appeal on Oct 9 last year that the panel would write the grounds of judgment because it was a matter of public interest.

However, he had yet to receive the grounds although he understood that judges must write their grounds within eight weeks after a notice of appeal had been lodged.

Following this, Arifin adjourned the hearing of the matter to a date to be fixed. Counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who is representing Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob, had no objections.

Logging concession on Umno’s land

On Oct 9 last year, the Court of Appeal allowed Adnan's appeal to set aside the High Court order compelling him to pay the damages after ruling that he was wrongly named as the respondent in the judicial review at the High Court, initiated by Seruan Gemilang to enforce a court judgment.

Seruan Gemilang sued the Pahang state government and the state forestry director in 2002, seeking RM31 million in damages for breaching a logging concession contract relating to the extraction of timber logs from a 10,000-acre plot of land belonging to Umno in Mukim Bebar, Pekan district.

In September 2008, the Pahang government was ordered to pay about RM60 million to Seruan Gemilang after it failed in its final effort at the Federal Court to obtain leave to appeal.

With this, the Federal Court reaffirmed the original decision of the Kuantan High Court on May 25, 2007 that the Pahang Government was to pay the company RM37,127,471.60 with eight per cent interest per annum from Dec 31, 2000.

Seruan Gemilang then attempted to enforce the judgment to recover the money but payment was not made.

On April 20 last year it obtained an order of mandamus from the Kuantan High Court to compel the menteri besar, as chief executive of the state and in charge of the finance portfolio, to settle the amount within 14 days.

The menteri besar successfully appealed to the Court of Appeal to overturn the ruling, prompting Seruan Gemilang to file for leave to appeal against the decision.

- Bernama

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