Umno logging scandal: Pahang MB need not pay RM63 mil

Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob need not pay the judgment debt of RM63 million to logging company Seruan Gemilang Makmur Sdn Bhd for breach of agreement, the Court of Appeal ruled today.

Justice Zaleha Zahari, who sat with Sulaiman Daud and Jeffrey Tan, held that the menteri besar was wrongly named as the respondent in the judicial review proceeding at the High Court, initiated by Seruan Gemilang, to demand the judgment sum from the state government.

"We allow the appeal with costs, on the principal ground that a wrong entity was named as the respondent in the judicial review proceeding," Zaleha said in her oral decision.

However, the sum of RM63 million owed to Seruan Gemilang would still need to be paid as today's decision would not affect the main judgement (ordering the Pahang Government to pay RM63 million) made by the High Court in 2007, the court held.

Karpal Singh, for Seruan Gemilang, told the media later that he would file for leave to appeal against the Appeal Court's decision next week, and would issue a fresh certificate to demand debt payment from the Pahang financial officer.
Land belongs to Umno

On April 20, this year, Adnan had appealed against the Kuantan High Court's decision, ordering him to pay RM63 million to Seruan Gemilang after allowing he company's application for a 'writ of mandamus' (compelling order).

Seruan Gemilang filed the mandamus application last year, saying that it had demanded the judgment sum with interest, through a solicitor's letter, and had furnished an endorsement letter under Section 33 of the Government Proceedings Act 1956, but did not receive any payment.

On May 25, 2007, the Pahang government was ordered by the Kuantan High Court to pay the company RM37,127,471.60, at eight per cent interest per annum from Dec 31, 2000.

Seruan Gemilang filed the suit against the state government and the state forestry director on Dec 2, 2002, seeking RM31 million in damages for breaching 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 their statement of defence, the defendants said that Seruan Gemilang was only given a licence to log 7,000 acres because they found that the company was not interested in logging the remaining 3,000 acres.

Counsel Datuk Shafee Abdullah and state legal adviser Datuk Mat Zara'ai Alias acted for Adnan.

State gov't awards land to Umno

The logging scam highlighted in July and August of 2003 by Malaysiakini centred around a 10,000-acre plot of land - about 40 sq km in size - near Pekan.

The plot of land was awarded to Umno Pahang in 1998 by the state government led by then Pahang MB and Umno state chief Khalil Yaacob, ostensibly for oil palm plantation.

To make the deal aboveboard, the party was required to pay a RM4.8 million land premium before logging activities could start. Although almost all of the land has been stripped to date, Umno has repeatedly failed to make the payment.

In 2000, Umno Pahang gave SGM the exclusive right to fell, extract and sell the logs in the area. In return, the company paid the party a mere RM50,000 for the deal which is believed to be worth millions.

Industry experts were puzzled by the extremely low transfer rate and questioned if there was any ¡®hidden agreement¡¯ between the two parties.

Documents in malaysiakini¡¯s possession revealed that the deal was supported by several high-ranking Umno Pahang officials.

Adnan said he was unaware of it since the deal was approved by his predecessor in 1998, but added that SGM had dealt with "one or two individuals" who had allegedly cheated the company through misrepresentation and forgery.

Umno Pahang and SGM have been embroiled in a legal dispute since last year after the company failed to obtain a logging licence from the state forestry office to log the remaining 3,000 acres of the tract.

MK
09/10/09

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