KUALA LUMPUR (May 16): Sarawak Cable Bhd (KL:SCABLE) board member and major shareholder Datuk Seri Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib was not aware of and does not support the board’s decision to sue Leader Cable Industry Bhd’s (LCIB) liquidators for alleged negligence in handling asset sales, according to an email sighted by The Edge. LCIB is a subsidiary of Sarawak Cable.
Earlier this month, Sarawak Cable, under interim judicial management, said in a bourse filing that its board had informed LCIB’s liquidators — Khoo Siew Kiat and Goh Hua Yang from Messrs Deloitte Restructuring Services PLT — of plans to start legal action.
Mahmud Abu Bekir, formerly Sarawak Cable’s chairman, became a non-executive director on Oct 28, 2024. As of January 2024, he holds a 12.1% direct and 6.5% indirect stake in the company.
An email from Mahmud Abu Bekir’s lawyer to LCIB’s court-appointed liquidators sought to distance him from the board’s action to sue, stating “our client was neither aware of that decision to commence legal proceedings nor does he support the same”.
In the email, his lawyer also claimed the board is influenced by people connected to UK-based Serendib Capital Ltd.
Serendib, which was initially seen as a white knight for the financially struggling Sarawak Cable, is now suing the company, Mahmud Abu Bekir, and six other directors. The lawsuit accuses them of conspiring to harm the company.
“Although our client is a major shareholder, his options are limited with the appointment of the interim judicial manager. In this regard, our client has applied to intervene in the judicial management proceedings with a view to opposing the application,” the email read. A source confirmed this information.
Sarawak Cable, a Practice Note 17 company since September 2022, was placed under interim judicial management in July 2023. This followed an application by law firm Messrs Krish Maniam & Co, which claimed unpaid legal fees. An interim judicial manager is appointed by the court to oversee the company, protect creditors, and help stabilise or restructure the business to avoid closure.
Mahmud Abu Bekir has applied to intervene in the court’s decision to place Sarawak Cable under interim judicial management. In his affidavit sighted by The Edge, he claims the law firm Messrs Krish Maniam still has “delusional hope” that Serendib can rescue the company. His application will be heard on June 20, 2025.
In the latest development on Serendib’s suit against Sarawak Cable and its directors, Mahmud Abu Bekir had successfully obtained a court order for Serendib Capital to produce RM200,000 security costs to cover the legal proceedings should the company, as the plaintiff, lose.
The sum is to be deposited within 14 days of the Kuala Lumpur High Court order on May 13.
Read also:
Sarawak Cable to sue unit’s liquidators over alleged misconduct in asset disposal
Mahmud Abu Bekir files to intervene in law firm’s interim judicial management of Sarawak Cable
High Court orders Serendib Capital to pay RM200,000 as security for costs or lose case against Sarawak Cable, Mahmud Abu Bekir