KUALA LUMPUR (May 28): Kathryn Ma Wai Fong, widow of late WTK Holdings Bhd (KL:WTK) chief executive officer Datuk Wong Kie Nai, has sought leave from the Federal Court to appeal a ruling over disputed family shareholdings tied to WTK Group — one of Sarawak’s most influential and wealthy families.

Ma, who is also executrix of Kie Nai’s estate, filed the application on May 27 through Alvin Yong Advocates of Kuching, according to her spokesman Kelvin Seet in a statement on Thursday (May 28).

The move follows a Court of Appeal (COA) ruling on April 29 affirming the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak in Sibu’s decision that shares belonging to late timber tycoon Datuk Seri Wong Tuong Kwang in 20 privately held companies had been fraudulently transferred to Kie Nai, Tuong Kwang’s second son.

The suit was filed in April 2014 by Wong Kie Chie, Tuong Kwang’s youngest son and a beneficiary of Tuong Kwang's estate, against Ma for allegedly improperly transferring unlisted shares in 20 companies — including WTK Realty Sdn Bhd, the holding company of the broader WTK Group — out of their father’s estate.

Kie Chie also named his elder brother Datuk Seri Wong Kie Yik in the suit. At the time, Kie Yik was chairman of WTK Holdings and an administrator of Tuong Kwang’s estate.

The case is one of at least 40 lawsuits involving rival factions within the Wong family across the second and third generations.

Seet also pointed to a separate Federal Court ruling delivered on July 18, 2025 involving shares issued to Kie Nai in WTK Realty, Southwind Plantation Sdn Bhd and Ocarina Development Sdn Bhd between 2005 and 2007.

In that case, Kie Chie and Kie Yik had sought to invalidate the share issuances on grounds that they were made without prior shareholder approval under the Companies Act 1965.

The Federal Court dismissed the appeals by Kie Chie and Kie Yik and upheld an earlier COA ruling in Ma’s favour, albeit on different legal grounds. The apex court also granted validation orders for the share issuances.

According to Seet, the Federal Court found that Kie Chie had acknowledged in an affidavit that not all historical share issuances in WTK Realty strictly complied with shareholder approval requirements.

The court also found that the boards of the companies had consistently approved directors’ reports and audited accounts from 2005 to 2011 reflecting the issuances to Kie Nai, and that both Kie Chie and Kie Yik had knowledge of and acquiesced to the issuances for years without objection.

“The Federal Court found that there is clear and compelling evidence of Kie Chie and Kie Yik’s knowledge and acquiescence of the share issuances,” Seet said.

Kie Chie subsequently applied to review the Federal Court’s July 18, 2025 judgment across all six appeals, but the applications were unanimously dismissed on Nov 19, 2025.

“The dismissal of the review applications means that the Federal Court’s validation of the late Datuk Wong Kie Nai’s shares in WTK Realty, Southwind and Ocarina now stands as final,” Seet said.

“Against this backdrop, Ma is now seeking leave to bring the separate COA decision relating to the 20 private companies before the Federal Court as well,” he added.

WTK shares closed up 0.5 sen or 0.65% to 77 sen on Thursday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM368.2 million. The stock has risen 8.45% so far this year.

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