PETALING JAYA: The High Court has granted an order barring the company secretary of Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd and Ilham Baru Sdn Bhd from disclosing documents to any third party, including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), without the consent of the companies’ director.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court issued the ad-interim stay on Wednesday (Sept 17) following an application filed by the two companies against their company secretary, in connection with the ongoing forfeiture proceedings initiated by the MACC against Ilham Tower.
According to lawyer Nizamuddin Hamid, the decision means any disclosure to MACC can only be carried out with the consent of his client Toh Puan Nai’mah Khalid, who is also the widow of Tun Daim Zainuddin, a former finance minister.
In a statement issued Wednesday after the court granted the stay, the lawyer said an affidavit affirmed by Na'imah revealed that the company secretary had been served with an order under Section 30(1)(b) of the MACC Act, compelling the disclosure of all documents related to the two companies.
This followed MACC's move to seize and forfeit Menara Ilham, a property owned by Ilham Tower, despite no conviction made against any party, he said.
In the decision, he said, High Court judge Justice Wan Muhammad Amin Wan Yahya stated that: "An ad-interim injunction to restrain the Defendant, whether personally and/or through its employees and/or agents and/or representatives or any other party, from releasing any documents not accessible to the general public and/or accessible through the Companies Commission of Malaysia system which are in the possession and/or records of the Defendant to any third party without the written consent of the Plaintiffs' directors until Oct 9, 2025, or further Order of the Court.
"The court has further ordered that the cause papers be served onto the MACC to allow our client the opportunity to be heard before the court on the two companies’ applications."
He said Na'imah has reaffirmed that the company secretary must act according to the Companies Act 2016 and established laws, under which responsibility and powers are vested in the directors of the companies.
As such, any reckless compliance with MACC's order constitutes a violation of the law and is in violation of the Companies Act 2016 and the established laws.
