18-6-2024 (KUALA LUMPUR) In a high-stakes legal manoeuvre, Malaysian tycoon Halim Saad has taken his long-standing dispute with former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to the Court of Appeal, seeking to revive his lawsuit concerning the government’s takeover of his holdings in the Renong-UEM Group over two decades ago.
According to lawyer A Surendra Ananth, the notice of appeal was filed on June 11th, setting the stage for a renewed legal battle. “The Court of Appeal has fixed it for online case management on September 9th and has instructed parties to file the appeal records,” Ananth revealed.
This move comes after judicial commissioner Suzana Said struck out Halim’s suit on May 14th, ruling that the action was time-barred and that its subject matter had been decided in a previous case. The court also ordered Halim to pay RM10,000 in costs to the defendants, including Mahathir, former second finance minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop, and the government.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers, representing all three defendants, had contended that Halim was barred from pursuing the case due to time limitations under both the Limitation Act 1953 and the Public Authorities Protection Act 1948. The defendants further argued that Halim had filed a similar suit in the High Court more than a decade ago seeking to recover losses allegedly suffered following the takeover, which was also struck out.
In the current suit, filed last year, Halim claims that Mahathir and Mohamed had “forced” him to relinquish his stake in the Renong-UEM Group, along with all associated rights, without adequate compensation, over 22 years ago.
Mahathir served as prime minister from July 1981 to October 2003 and again from May 2018 to February 2020.
According to Halim’s statement of claim, he alleges that Mahathir and Mohamed were “the prime movers” of the “compulsory acquisition and deprivation” of his stake, which comprised 372 million shares, representing 16% of Renong Bhd’s entire share capital.
Halim asserts that the shares, acquired by the government investment arm Khazanah Nasional Bhd through its subsidiary in 2001, belonged to him personally and not to the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a fact acknowledged by the current prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, in Parliament on November 24th, 1997.
At the time, Anwar was Mahathir’s deputy, serving as the finance minister and UMNO’s deputy president.
Halim further claims that UEM then held a 32.6% stake in Renong, while Renong held a 37.92% share in UEM.
In his pursuit of justice, Halim’s suit seeks an unspecified amount in compensation or, alternatively, general, aggravated, and exemplary damages to be assessed by the court, along with interest and costs.
