PUTRAJAYA (Aug 10): A three-member Court of Appeal panel on Monday reinstated the KL Tower concession holder, joint venture LSH Service Master Sdn Bhd, and its owners, LSH Best Builders Sdn Bhd and Service Master (M) Sdn Bhd, as defendants in a RM1 billion suit filed by former KL Tower operator Hydroshoppe Sdn Bhd and Menara Kuala Lumpur Sdn Bhd.
LSH Service Master and LSH Best Builders are subsidiaries of Lim Seong Hai Capital Bhd (KL:LSH).
The three-member panel, led by Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli, unanimously ruled that the three companies should not have been removed from the lawsuit, as the High Court’s decision “was clearly and obviously” unsustainable.
The panel also allowed Hydroshoppe and Menara KL to amend their statement of claim, saying the requirements for the amendment had been met.
The appellate bench rejected the Malaysian government, Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil and the three companies’ — LSH Service Master, LSH Best Builders and Service Master — argument that the amendment was a tactical move.
It said the amendment was made early in the proceedings and in good faith, with no evidence of bad faith by Hydroshoppe and Menara KL.
Azhahari ordered the minister and government to pay RM15,000 in costs for the amendment appeal.
The three companies were ordered to pay RM30,000 in total to Hydroshoppe and Menara KL — RM15,000 for the amendment appeal and another RM15,000 for being reinstated in the suit.
Viniyak Sri Ram of Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership appeared for Hydroshoppe and Menara KL, while Datuk Malik Imtiaz Sarwar and Datuk Arthur Wang appeared for the three companies, and senior federal counsel Nur Irmawatie Daud appeared for Fahmi and the government.
According to LSH Capital’s Bursa Malaysia filing on Monday, the trial is scheduled for June 28 to July 2, 2027.
LSH said the lawsuit is not expected to materially affect LSH Service Master’s rights or operations of KL Tower under its March 10, 2025 concession agreement.
LSH Service Master took over the tower on April 19, 2025 and began operating it on April 26, 2025.
Suit for return of KL Tower concession filed last year
On March 27 last year, Hydroshoppe and Menara KL claimed that LSH Capital and its subsidiaries induced a breach of their contract with the government and provided dishonest assistance.
They are seeking to have the KL Tower concession awarded to LSH Service Master declared void and unlawful.
They also claim an estimated RM1 billion in damages and for the concession of the iconic Kuala Lumpur landmark building to be transferred back to them.
Hydroshoppe and Menara KL also named Fahmi and the government as defendants.
On July 15 last year, the High Court ordered the government and Fahmi to face trial, but allowed the three companies’ application to be removed from the suit.
The judge ruled that Hydroshoppe and Menara KL’s claims against the government and minister should be heard in a full trial with oral evidence.
“There are triable issues that are to be decided via viva voce (oral) evidence, especially in issues pertaining to a purported oral agreement between the government and the plaintiffs (the two companies) in 2022,” she said in ordering the matter to proceed to trial.
The High Court allowed the companies to be removed from the suit, ruling that Hydroshoppe and Menara KL had not provided enough details to support their claims. It said the amended claim still amounted to allegations of breach of contract, dishonest assistance and knowing receipt against the government and minister.