The Ipoh High Court ruled in favour of the Perak Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry or Dewan Perniagaan dan Perindustrian Melayu Perak (DPPM) on Friday, February 17, over a claim on its assets and operations. The court too dismissed the plaintiff’s allegations regarding the chambers’ transparency and management.
According to the President of DPPM, Dato’ Muhammad Muhiyuddin Abdullah, the chambers’ assets were transferred legally based upon its constitution.
The former Perak Malay Chambers of Commerce Malaysia or Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Malaysia Perak (DPMM) had, during an extraordinary general meeting held on September 13, 2013, passed a resolution to rename it the Perak Malay Chambers of Commerce and Industry or Dewan Perniagaan dan Perindustrian Melayu Perak (DPPM) instead.
A resolution was also passed to transfer all of its fixed, movable and liquid assets, amounting to RM5 million, to the new entity.
The mandate to execute the transfer was given to the board of trustees namely, the President, Deputy President and Vice President.
“However, some members of the defunct chambers, led by Dato’ Sabri Ahmad Tah, insisted that the name change and asset transfer were illegal and that they were the lawful owners of the RM5-million assets. They took the case to court for arbitration and it dragged on for almost seven years,” said Muhiyuddin.
The high court declared DPMM’s decision to abolish the original DPMM Perak branch on August 6, 2013 as invalid. And so was their claim that DPMM was a legal organisation and thus had ownership of assets in the Perak Malay Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s name.
The lengthy litigation process had impacted the smooth running of the chambers, said Muhiyuddin.
“The assets belong to members of the chambers and, therefore, it’s the responsibility of the management committee to ensure that they don’t fall into the wrongs hands,” said Muhiyuddin to reporters during a media conference held following the court ruling.
Luqman Hakim
