KUALA LUMPUR (March 13): The judicial review hearing involving Cekap Urus Sdn Bhd — majority-owned by Tan Sri Vincent Tan — the Ministry of Finance (MOF), as well as the federal government and Spanco Sdn Bhd regarding the government fleet car project has been rescheduled.
The original date for the hearing was Wednesday (March 12), but this has been moved to August 28. The change follows Cekap Urus' decision to file an additional affidavit related to the matter.
As a result, a previously scheduled case management session before a senior assistant registrar has also been rescheduled for August 28 and will be presided over by judge Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz.
Cekap Urus has been asked to submit the additional affidavit by March 27, with the respondents asked to file theirs by April 28, if any.
Both parties have been directed to submit their written submissions by June 30 and will have until July 28 to respond to each other's submissions.
Spanco was represented by Razlan Hadri Zulkifli and Edmund Choi while Chuar Kia Lin appeared for Cekap Urus.
The case was originally fixed for hearing of the merits of the judicial review on Wednesday before Hayatul Akmal.
On Oct 30, 2024, Cekap Urus — a joint-venture (JV) between Tan’s Berjaya Corp Bhd (KL:BJCORP), Naza Corp Holdings Sdn Bhd and Tunku Tun Aminah Sultan Ibrahim Ismail — reinstated the action against Spanco and the government, after withdrawing its notice of discontinuance in the suit.
Berjaya controls a 51% stake in the JV, Naza owns 29%, while the daughter of Malaysia’s current Yang di-Pertuan Agong holds the remaining 20%.
LOI terminated suddenly, appeal dismissed
Cekap Urus asserted that it was given a letter of intent (LOI) from the MOF for the government fleet project in early 2019.
However, on Dec 11, 2019, the government decided to cancel or terminate the LOI for the supply and management of the government vehicle fleet and awarded the contract to Spanco instead, prompting Cekap Urus to challenge the termination through a judicial review.
Cekap Urus is seeking to invalidate the LOI termination. It is also asking the court for a declaration that the government and ministry’s decision to award Spanco the fleet project through direct negotiation was invalid, null and void.
The JV company is demanding a certiorari order to quash the government’s dismissal of its appeal against the termination on Jan 25, 2023. It has also requested a mandamus order to compel the government to execute the letter awarded to Cekap Urus.
Last August 2, Cekap Urus filed a notice to discontinue its application for a judicial review against the government's decision to terminate the LOI, with an option to refile, without cost. The federal government and MOF had no objections to that, but Spanco disagreed with the terms of the withdrawal and sought costs. Cekap Urus subsequently reinstated the suit in October.
Spanco chairman Tan Sri Robert Tan Hua Choon was charged in April last year for allegedly cheating the MOF in a RM3.966 billion government fleet contract. Tan’s trial is still pending.