PUTRAJAYA: Former Pahang menteri besar Tan Sri Adnan Yaakob failed in his appeal on Thursday (July 31) to overturn a summary judgement requiring him to pay an RM84,000 penalty to the Securities Commission (SC) for breaching provisions under the Capital Market and Services Act 2007 (CMSA).
A three-man bench led by Justice Datuk Azimah Omar held that Adnan should have filed a judicial review to challenge the penalty, adding that on that ground alone, the appeal was bound to fail.
Furthermore, she said Adnan failed to raise any triable issues in the light of his clear and unequivocal admission in his letter to the SC.
The panel, also comprising Justices Datuk Wong Kian Kheong and Datuk Ismail Brahim, ordered Adnan to pay RM10,000 in legal costs.
Adnan, who served as Pahang menteri besar from 1999 to 2018, was a member of the Board of Directors of Pasdec Holdings Bhd (Pasdec), whose largest shareholder is the Pahang State Development Corporation (PKNP) (Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Pahang).
The SC, a statutory body established under the Securities Commission Act 1993 (SCMA), is vested with the functions and powers to enforce compliance with the SCMA and CMSA.
On May 16, 2018, Pasdec issued an abridged prospectus that omitted material information.
Pasdec failed to disclose PKNP’s application for approval to subscribe to its entitlement at the issue price of RM0.35 per rights share, was still pending.
As a member of the Pasdec’s board of directors, Adnan, 75, had individually and collectively accepted responsibility for the omission.
On July 22, 2020, SC issued a notice to Adnan stating that he had breached the provisions in CMSA and imposed sanctions, including reprimand and an RM84,000 penalty. However, no payment was made, and the SC initiated a civil suit in the Magistrate’s Court in Kuantan.
On Aug 25, 2022, the Magistrate’s Court allowed the SC’s application to enter a summary judgment against Adnan. His appeal to the High Court was dismissed on Feb 16, 2023.
In Thursday’s proceedings, Adnan, who holds a law degree from the International Islamic University Malaysia, represented himself. He submitted that he should not have been responsible for the breach because his role as Pasdec chairman was a state government appointment.
Lawyer Lambert Rasa-Ratnam representing SC, argued that Adnan could have filed a judicial review to challenge the penalty imposed but did not do so.
Lambert was also assisted by lawyers Chia Oh Sheng and Lim Jun Xian. - Bernama
