PUTRAJAYA, June 22 — Dhaya Maju LTAT Sdn Bhd today obtained an ad interim injunction to restrain the government and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) from instructing the company to stop work on the Klang Valley Double Tracking Phase 2 (KVDT2) project.

The Court of Appeal Judge Datuk Seri Kamaludin Md Said granted the application by Dhaya Maju LTAT pending the hearing of an Erinford injunction on July 26.

"Since there is no objection by the senior federal counsel (SFC), the court allowed an ad interim order for maintaining the status quo, until the hearing of the matter on July 26,” said the judge who presided the virtual proceedings with justices Datuk Lee Heng Cheong and Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali.

Earlier, Dhaya Maju LTAT's counsel Ashok Ranai told the court that they were seeking an Erinford injunction from the Court of Appeal as the previous injunction granted by the High Court is due to expire on June 24.

"The court would only hear our Erinford injunction application on July 26. It is important for an ad interim order to be granted, otherwise, the application will be rendered nugatory,” he said adding that SFC Asliza Ali, who acted for the Malaysian Government and Transport Minister  

An Erinford injunction is a specific court order to prevent or compel a party to do a specific act to preserve the status quo pending the conclusion of an appeal.

On June 8, Dhaya Maju LTAT filed an appeal against the High Court’s decision on June 4 in dismissing its application for an interim injunction order to restrain the government and KTMB from instructing the company to stop work on the KVDT2 project.

However, High Court judge Datuk Lim Chong Fong allowed the company's application for an Erinford injunction to be in place that would last until June 24, pending an appeal to be made at the Court of Appeal.

Judge Lim dismissed the application on the grounds that under Section 29 of the Government Proceedings Act 1956 (Act 356), the law prevents courts from issuing injunctions against the government and civil servants to prevent them from performing official duties.

On Oct 27 last year, Dhaya Maju LTAT filed a suit against the government, Wee, KTMB and Opus Consultants over the termination of the company's contract in the KVDT2 project. 

In its statement of claims, the company, among others, claimed that until now, the official notice of termination had not been served on the company and it was completely unaware of the termination until it was announced by Wee in a media statement.

Apart from damages, Dhaya Maju LTAT, a joint venture firm belonging Dhaya Maju Infrastructure (Asia) Sdn Bhd and Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) incorporated on June 5, 2017, under the Companies Act 2016, sought a declaration that the decision to terminate the contract was null and void.

The dispute arose after Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz released a list of 101 projects worth RM6.61 billion awarded through direct negotiations during the Pakatan Harapan administration, and this included the KVDT2 project worth RM4.475 billion given to Dhaya Maju LTAT. — Bernama