Former KL Tower operator passes first hurdle in court to challenge last year's eviction notice

KUALA LUMPUR (April 1): Former KL Tower operator Menara Kuala Lumpur Sdn Bhd and its subsidiary Hydroshoppe Sdn Bhd will get their day in court over eviction notices issued last year.

The High Court on Wednesday allowed the companies' leave (permission) application to proceed with their judicial review against Federal Lands Commissioner Datuk Muhammad Azmi Mohd Zain and the government.

The eviction notices were issued in April last year and the new operator LSH Service Master Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Lim Seong Hai Capital Bhd (KL:LSH), has taken over the tower’s operations.

However, it is understood that High Court judge Alice Loke Yee Ching found that the issue was not academic and ought to be further ventilated.

Previously, the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) had objected to the leave application on the grounds that the interim injunction, stopping the take-over, had been dismissed in a separate court. They added that the applicants have since vacated the iconic tower and are no longer its operators.

However, the applicants’ lawyers from Messrs Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership countered that at the leave stage, the court only needs to determine that the case is not frivolous and vexatious.

The lawyers argue that their clients were evicted on the grounds that they were "squatters" or "occupiers" by law.

But this justification, the lawyers say, cannot stand, as their clients are in the midst of a court case where they were seeking to enforce their rights to occupy and operate Menara KL.

This is one of the many court cases in the dispute over the awarding of the KL Tower concession, where Hydroshoppe and Menara KL allege contractual breaches and misconduct that led to the awarding of the concession to LSH Service Master.

In July last year, the High Court ruled that Hydroshoppe's and Menara KL's RM1 billion (main) lawsuit against Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil and the government over the concession award will go to trial as there were issues that needed to be fully ventilated.

The court, however, allowed LSH Service Master and its owners LSH Best Builders Sdn Bhd and Service Master (M) Sdn Bhd, to be taken out of the lawsuit.

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