Prestariang sues govt for RM732.86m over SKIN cancellation

In a statement yesterday, Prestariang said PSSB had signed the Master Licensing Agreement (MLA) 3.0 with the MoF, expanding the scope of its clientele by including public training institutes as Prestariang

KUALA LUMPUR: Prestariang Bhd's sub-subsidiary Prestariang Skin Sdn Bhd (PSkin) is making a legal claim of RM732.86mil from the Malaysian government in light of the latter's termination of the Sistem Kawalan Imigresen Nasional (SKIN) project.

According to Prestariang, the concession agreement clearly spells out the government's obligations in the event the project is terminated by way of expropriation.

The group claimed it had incurred substantial expenses in extensive technical studies and works on the project since 2014, as well as entered numerous third-party contracts in executing the project.

PSkin had secured the 15-year concession on Aug 9, 2017, to design and manage a new immigration and border control system for the Immigration Department to replace the older system. 

"PSKIN was to receive approximately RM3.5bil over the 15-year concession period, subject to the entire capital expenditure being privately funded by PSKIN. 

"Payment to PSKIN by the GOM would only commence after SKIN is completely operational," said Prestariang.

Subsequent to the termination of the project, the parties failed to negotiate a settlement on the payment obligation.

The claim of RM732.86mil is calculated based on the contractual formula provided in the concession agreement which had been agreed to by the governemnt, said Prestariang.

In addition to the RM732.86mil, Pskin is also claiming interest on the sum at a rate of 5% per annum from the date of the judgment, and costs.

"The financial impact of the Originating Summons to Prestariang Group shall be subject to the compensation amount awarded by the Court. 

"The Board remains positive on the claims against the GOM pursuant to the terms of the Concession Agreement and the Supplemental Agreement," said Prestariang.

It added that it does not expect any operational impact or losses for the group save for the legal fees arising from the legal action.