Bank Rakyat members file for judicial review, want bank independent of gov’t
Three Bank Rakyat shareholders have filed for leave for judicial review after the bank’s board of directors turned down their request to release the bank from government control.
This was announced by their lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla today.
Three Bank Rakyat shareholders have filed for leave for judicial review after the bank’s board of directors turned down their request to release the bank from government control.
This was announced by their lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla today.
In a statement, he said he had filed the application online this afternoon with the Kuala Lumpur High Court on behalf of Abdul Aziz Zainal, Mustafha Abd Razak and Rahim Yunus.
“The filing follows a decision by then entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof to reject a request from Bank Rakyat members to abolish the Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Berhad (Special Provisions) Act 1978.
“And a decision by the Bank Rakyat board of directors to reject a request from Bank Rakyat members to hold a special general meeting to table a motion to abolish the Act,” he said, adding that the trio was dissatisfied over these decisions.
Haniff said that his clients believed it was time for the Act to be abolished so that the bank could be independent of the government.
“The applicants believe that it is time for the management of Bank Rakyat to be returned to its members so they can manage it without government intervention, as per the wishes of former prime minister Hussein Onn when he tabled the Act,” he added.
The four respondents named in the suit are Redzuan, the bank’s board of directors, the Finance Ministry and the government.
Following the political coup in late February, Redzuan (below) has been made a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for special affairs.
The three former Bank Rakyat top executives who filed the suit have also set up a pro-tem committee allegedly representing some 900,000 Bank Rakyat members to abolish the Act.
Abdul Aziz was formerly its chairperson, while Mustafha was a former managing director and Rahim was a former general manager.
According to Haniff, the trio is seeking a declaration that Section 31 of the Act gives the minister-in-charge the power to abolish the Act.
They are also seeking two certiorari orders - one to cancel decisions made by Redzuan on April 12 and Aug 23 last year to reject applications to abolish the Act.
The second order is to cancel a May 4 decision by the bank’s board of directors to reject an application to hold a special general meeting to table a motion to abolish the Act.
Furthermore, they are seeking a mandamus order instructing the entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister to carry out duties under Section 31 to abolish the Act.
Bank Rakyat is presently under the renamed Entrepreneur Development Ministry, which is led by Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
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