KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 19): The High Court has on Wednesday granted a creditor an interim restraining order against Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd from filing, presenting, or lodging any application in respect to the company which could give rise to an automatic moratorium under the Companies Act 2016 (CA), without first getting leave (permission) from the court.
Judicial Commissioner Mohamad Redzuan Idrus granted the creditor, Bridgex Sdn Bhd, the order to temporarily bar the company acting by itself or through its directors, officers, employees, agents, solicitors, nominees, or related corporations, from filing any such application.
Bridgex filed the notice of application on Aug 12 to restrain Maju Holdings until its originating summons, which it had filed in 2023, is heard and disposed of.
Bridgex is the petitioning creditor in the winding-up petition against Maju Holdings in 2023, where the matter is now fixed for hearing on Sept 9.
The winding-up petition against Maju Holdings has not yet been heard on its merits, as its hearing had been stalled twice by the automatic moratorium that arises on the bare act of filing a corporate rescue application under Part III of the CA.
The first was a judicial management application filed by Maju Holdings itself in May 2024, which was dismissed with costs on Nov 19 last year, with written grounds delivered on Jan 18 this year.
Another judge, Jamhirah Ali, had made a gate-keeping order in June, requiring permission from the court before any judicial management application is made in respect of Maju Holdings.
This follows Jamhirah allowing the striking out of the judicial management application by design and build firm Pembinaan Melima (M) Sdn Bhd, which is another creditor, and Jamhirah also ruled that any such bids in respect of Maju Holdings in future shall not be made without first obtaining leave from the court.
In Bridgex’s press release, Bridgex said Wednesday’s order extends comparable protection, on an interim basis, to the two other provisions of the CA that carry an automatic moratorium upon filing — an application for a restraining order in aid of a proposed scheme of arrangement under Section 368(1A), and a corporate voluntary arrangement under Section 398 of the CA.
Unlike the June order given by Jamhirah, Wednesday's order is directed at Maju Holdings and those acting through it.
“Such moratoria are wide in their effect. While one is in force, no order may be made for the winding up of the company, and proceedings against the company generally may not be commenced or continued except with leave,” said the Bridgex press release.
“Bridgex's position is that the corporate rescue provisions of the CA exist to rehabilitate companies that can be rehabilitated, and that the court should be able to consider whether an application is properly made before, rather than after, a moratorium takes effect. The relief sought does not prevent any application being made; it requires only that leave be obtained first.”
Bridgex was represented by James Au of Messrs AJ Ariffin Yeo & Harpal, while Datuk Jasbeer Singh of Messrs Jasbeer, Nur & Lee appeared for Maju Holdings.