PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has refused the Penang Han Chiang Associated Chinese Schools Association and two others leave to appeal against a ruling that a trustee may sue to protect trust property without first obtaining the attorney-general’s consent.
A three-member bench chaired by Justice Nordin Hassan unanimously dismissed the application, ruling that the proposed questions of law did not meet the threshold under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964.
The panel, which included Justices Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh and Azimah Omar, ordered the applicants - the association, its former chairman Tan Kok Ping, and current chairman Ooi Soo Hing - to pay RM50,000 in costs to Lim Boon Lin, the sole surviving trustee of the Han Chiang Trust.
The dispute concerns land placed under a charitable trust through a 1948 indenture to establish and operate Han Chiang School.
Lim, who became a trustee in 2001, objected to the association's proposed RM50 million Han Chiang Education City project, which envisaged facilities for tertiary education. He argued that the trust deed only permitted the operation of Chinese schools.
In 2023, he sued the association, Tan, Ooi, and other parties over alleged breaches of trust and irregularities involving development plans.
The High Court struck out Lim's suit in 2024, holding that he needed the attorney-general's written consent under Section 9 of the Government Proceedings Act 1956.
The Court of Appeal, led by Justice Wong Kian Kheong, overturned that decision in June, ruling that the consent requirement did not apply to trustees seeking to protect trust property.
The Court of Appeal also ordered the case to proceed to trial, with an interlocutory injunction restraining the association, Tan, and Ooi from submitting building plans for the project.
Lim was represented by Robert Lazar, Jeyasingam Balasingam and Kiranjeet Kaur Baldeep Singh, while Alvin Tang, K Kirubakaran, Loh Yeow Khoon and Phuah Wen Jian appeared for the applicants.