High Court rules it has jurisdiction to hear lawsuit against Raghad

The High Court in Kuching today ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear the lawsuit filed by the sons of the late Abdul Taib Mahmud, Sarawak’s seventh governor, against their stepmother, Raghad Kurdi Taib.

Judge Alexander Siew How Wai delivered the ruling after dismissing preliminary objections raised by Raghad (above) and the second defendant, RHB Investment Bank Berhad, who contended that the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Syariah Court.

The judge noted that neither defendant had, in their original statements of defence, pleaded that the dispute falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Syariah Court, nor that the civil court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate the matter.

“This issue was only raised for the first time during oral submissions in the hearing of the striking-out applications. The defendants subsequently amended their respective defences to plead this point,” he said.

The court found that jurisdiction properly lies with the civil courts, not the Syariah Court.

According to earlier media reports, former deputy tourism minister Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib and his brother, Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib, sought an injunction to restrain the transfer of shares in a private company to Raghad.

Sulaiman and Mahmud are the sons of the late Taib from his first marriage to Laila Taib, who passed away on April 29, 2009.

Taib subsequently married Raghad on Dec 18, 2010. He died on Feb 21 last year.

- Bernama

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