Kota Kinabalu: The High Court on Wednesday struck out Sabah Forest Industries’ (SFI) judicial review application against the Chief Minister and the State Government over the cancellation of its timber licence agreements (TLAs) following the shutdown of SFI’s pulp and paper mill in November 2016.
The application was filed by SFI’s Receiver and Manager Grant Thornton.
In her short grounds of decision, High Court Judge Amelati Parnell ruled that Grant Thornton, as Receiver and Manager, does not have any authority, power or jurisdiction over SFI’s timber licence agreements because such licence agreements are not charged assets to which Grant Thornton were appointed.
“Therefore, Grant Thornton has no authority to commence judicial review proceedings to challenge the Chief Minister’s decision to cancel SFI’s timber licence agreements,” she said.
Tengku Datuk Fuad, who represented the Chief Minister and the Sabah State Government, said:
“The Chief Minister, after giving SFI an opportunity to be heard, decided that it was in the public interest to cancel SFI’s timber licence agreements for, among other things, SFI shutting down its operations in 2016 and its failure to fulfil the purposes for which the said timber licence agreements were granted.”
He also said “the terms of SFI’s timber licence agreements are clear – they cannot be charged without the Chief Minister’s written consent.
“Therefore, as SFI’s timber licence agreements were never charged, it follows that the Receiver and Manager cannot have any authority or power to sue in respect of the CM’s decision to cancel the said agreements.”
Representing the SFI Receiver and Manager were S. Vanugopal and Jayen Marimuthu.
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