MAS settles suits against Tajudin Ramli
He has claimed that his purchase was forced “national service”, disguised as an arm’s length commercial deal, because the government wanted to appease the investment community and the public.
(The Malaysian Insider) – Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has settled out of court its three lawsuits against ex-chairman Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli, a move the national carrier described as “considerably viable”.
The Malaysian Insider understands that the High Court has allowed both MAS and Tajudin to withdraw their suits and counterclaim respectively.
The matter was settled in chambers earlier today in the presence of Justice Rosilah Yop.
“He (Tajudin) has agreed to surrender valuable land in Langkawi where the Four Seasons Hotel stands,” a court source told The Malaysian Insider on condition of anonymity.
Another source close to MAS disclosed that the national carrier considers the settlement as a viable move which will allow it to “move on and to provide closure to a very longstanding matter.”
It is also understood that an official announcement will be made to Bursa Malaysia later today.
MAS was represented by lawyers from the firm of Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill, while the firm of Lim Kian Leong & Co represented Tajudin.
Tajudin, who was executive chairman of the airline from 1994 to 2001, had applied to cancel MAS’s suit over allegations he abused his position and concealed his interests in business decisions made during his watch.
Putrajaya also sought to strike out Tajudin’s counterclaim, in which he alleges the government and MAS defamed him with the civil suit for abuse of power while heading the flag carrier.
MAS had accused Tajudin of unconscionable conduct by using his influence to continue the VIP chartering service with the purchase of a Boeing 737 business jet for US$31 million (RM93.5 million) in 1997, despite MAS suffering losses.
The airline also claimed that Tajudin had dishonestly concealed his interests in Cendanasari Insurance Brokers Sdn Bhd, in matters involving a parcel of land in Langkawi and a luxury yacht, Colombo Star.
The Kedah-born businessman had in turn claimed that the suit contains bare allegations with no basis and that MAS had acted with malice and in bad faith in taking legal action against him to embarrass and tarnish his reputation.
Earlier this year, Tajudin settled out of court his debt owed to Pengurusan Danaharta Bhd (Danaharta) and several other government-linked companies (GLCs) for an undisclosed sum of money.
This was despite a High Court decision in December 2009 ordering the ex-MAS chief to pay the state asset management manager RM589.14 million plus two per cent interest per year, backdated to January 1, 2006.
Tajudin has been entangled in a complicated series of expensive suits, countersuits and appeals with various parties arising from his failure to service a billion ringgit loan he took to purchase a major stake in MAS in 1994.
He has claimed that his purchase was forced “national service”, disguised as an arm’s length commercial deal, because the government wanted to appease the investment community and the public.
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, however, denied in his autobiography published in March last year that he and former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin had forced Tajudin to bail out MAS in 1994 for RM1.8 billion.
Last August, Putrajaya intervened and commenced action to put an end to the controversial legal battle by ordering all suits against Tajudin to be dropped.
The move has been described as an attempt by the government to cover-up details found in Tajudin’s affidavit in support of his counter-claim where the embattled tycoon purportedly revealed much of the inner workings behind the purchase of MAS.
According to media reports, Tajudin had also claimed of an over-riding agreement protecting him from liabilities.
The 65-year-old was a poster boy of Daim’s now-discredited policy of nurturing a class of Malay corporate captains on government largesse during the Mahathir administration.
