The legal team has applied to the Kuching High Court for ad hoc licences to appear. – AFP photo
KUCHING (May 28): Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) is sending two Peninsular-based lawyers to represent it in the Kuching High Court in an ongoing legal dispute with Sarawak Petroleum Berhad’s (Petros) over a RM7.95 million Maybank Islamic bank guarantee.
The legal team, comprising Cyrus Vimala Kumar Vincent Das and Khoo Guan Huat, has applied to the Kuching High Court for ad hoc licences to appear.
Their respective petitions are scheduled to be heard tomorrow (May 29) at the Sibu High Court, according to reliable sources.
The case will be mentioned before Judicial Commissioner Datuk Faridz Gohim Abdullah this Friday (May 30), when the court is expected to address Petronas’ applications for adjournment and stay of proceedings.
According to a May 14 letter sighted by The Borneo Post, the Malaysian Attorney-General’s Chamber raised no objections to the lawyers’ petitions, supporting Petronas’ right to be represented by its preferred legal counsel.
The AG Chambers also expressed the view that the lawyers’ involvement would assist the court in ensuring a comprehensive and fair disposal of the case – an issue that has reportedly not been litigated before.
Petros, the plaintiff, is seeking a court order for the return of Rm7.95 million, paid to Petronas under the bank guarantee.
The sum, Petros contends, was compensation for gas allegedly supplied in contravention of the Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016, as Petronas is not the licensed gas aggregator in Sarawak.
Petros argued that under the Sarawak Gas Sales Agreement dated Dec 30, 2019, Petronas lacks the necessary licence to distribute or supply gas in Sarawak, thereby invalidating the transaction.
On April 28 this year, Kuching High Court Judicial Commissioner Datuk Faridz Gohim Abdullah dismissed Petronas’ earlier application to stay proceedings, clearing the way for the main hearing on June 11.
“Petronas’ application for a stay of proceedings lacked exceptional and compelling grounds, and there were no special circumstances to justify delaying the hearing of Petros’ case, which is ready to proceed,” he said.
The judicial commissioner further ruled that granting the stay sought by Petronas – pending the “full and final disposal of the KL proceedings initiated by Shell SDMS Sdn Bhd” – would hinder the timely resolution of the Petros matter.
Local counsel Alex Ngu, representing Petronas, informed the court of the company’s intention to appeal the ruling and requested a further stay of proceedings pending the outcome of the appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Both Petros and the State Attorney General’s Chambers opposed the request for a further stay.
State Legal Counsel Dato Sri JC Fong, appearing for the Sarawak government, asked the court to fix a hearing date for the Petros case and advised Petronas to apply for an expedited appeal under Rule 22 of the Rules of the Court of Appeal 1994.
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