PUTRAJAYA, July 26 — Dhaya Maju LTAT Sdn Bhd has been granted an Erinford injunction to restrain Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) from taking any further steps against revoking the construction company’s license to occupy the Klang Valley Double Tracking Phase 2 (KVDT2) project site.

Court of Appeal three-panel bench led by Justice Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil granted the application by Dhaya Maju LTAT for an Erinford injunction as there was merit in its application. Two other justices are Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail and Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali.

"We considered the arguments of all parties. The following is our unanimous decision. There is merit in this application. In this regard, we agreed with the submissions of the applicant (Dhaya Maju LTAT).

"We also allowed the oral application by the applicant’s counsel to stop KTMB from taking further steps to enforce the revocation of the license to occupy. In the circumstances, we, therefore, give order in terms of the amended prayer,” said the judge via virtual proceedings.

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. Dhaya Maju had filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal against the High Court’s decision rejecting the injunction order sought against the government and KTMB.

Counsel Khoo Guan Huat acted for Dhaya Maju LTAT, while senior federal counsel Asliza Ali appeared for the government and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong. KTMB is represented by counsel Sean Yeow Huang Meng.

On June 22, Dhaya Maju LTAT obtained an extension of the ad interim injunction to preserve the status quo of the case pending the full and final disposal of the company’s appeal against the High Court’s decision rejecting the injunction order sought against the government and KTMB.

The Court of Appeal Judge Datuk Seri Kamaludin Md Said granted the application by the company, pending the hearing of an Erinford injunction today.

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 October 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 Datuk Seri Tengku 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