KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 2): There is still no settlement over some estimated RM2 billion assets claimed by Aminah Abdullah, the mother of the late former minister Tan Sri Dr Jamaludin Jarjis, and Jamaludin’s widow Puan Sri Kalsom Ismail and the couple’s four children.
On Tuesday (Jan 31), the parties informed the Shariah High Court that they had yet to reach a settlement, and as such, the court fixed a later date for the parties to return to the court.
The parties will now update the court on May 2 on whether they could settle the matter amicably, and this was confirmed by Aminah’s relative and lawyer Farhan Haziq when contacted by theedgemarkets.com.
Last Nov 1, it was reported that Kalsom was discussing a possible out-of-court settlement with her four children and mother-in-law Aminah in the dispute over matrimonial assets worth an estimated RM2 billion.
This followed that the court was scheduled to hear Kalsom’s application to amend her statement that month, but the matter was adjourned after the parties informed judge Abdul Shukor Abd Hamid that they were discussing a possible settlement.
Kalsom had named her children Ikhwan Hafiz Jamaludin, Nur Anis Jamaludin, Nurul Alyaa Jamaludin and Noor Adilla Jamaludin, besides Jamaludin’s mother, Aminah, as defendants.
The ongoing discussion for settlement is to take place without their lawyers’ presence.
Nur Hidayah A Bakar, another counsel representing Aminah, confirmed that there was no settlement yet as the family was still in discussion.
Jamaludin, a one-time science, technology and innovation minister and former Malaysian ambassador to the US, was killed in a helicopter crash near Semenyih with five others, including former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s principal private secretary Datuk Azlin Alias, in April 2015.
The former minister, a close confidante of Najib, was said to have several bank accounts locally and abroad, along with several properties, including houses in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the US, where he had served as Malaysia’s ambassador.
Before involving himself in politics, Jamaludin, a former lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, was also a businessman.
Following his death in 2017, Ikhwan Hafiz and Nur Anis were named as administrators of Jamaludin’s estate in the letters of administration granted by the Civil High Court in 2017.
Kalsom, a dentist by qualification, is seeking an amendment to remove and add several listed assets in the statement of claim filed four years ago.
She is claiming one-eight of the estate, while Aminah is claiming one-sixth of the assets under the Islamic faraid system.
Federal Court fixes Feb 9 as hearing date
Meanwhile, in an unrelated development, the Federal Court has fixed Feb 9 to hear a motion by Ikhwan Hafiz and Nur Anis for leave to appeal against a Court of Appeal decision last August, which ruled that Rantai Wawasan Sdn Bhd is considered a part of Jamaludin’s estate.
Aminah is also staking her claim on a portion of the shares.
Case management was done in the Federal Court last week, which fixed Feb 9 as the hearing date for the motion for leave to appeal. This was confirmed by Aminah’s counsel Pawancheek Merican when contacted by theedgemarkets.com.
In civil cases in the apex court, the appeal is not automatically heard as leave (permission) would have to be gained first.
Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, who read the unanimous decision by a three-member appellate bench, upheld the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision that also ruled Alpine Motion Sdn Bhd and Ivory Insights Sdn Bhd, which were used as special purpose vehicles for Nur Power, are not part of Jamaludin’s estate due to lack of evidence.
Aminah had laid claim over her rightful portion of the shares following Jamaludin’s sudden death.
She filed the suit in 2019, claiming that shares in the three companies should be construed as part of her son’s estate. The octogenarian is also claiming:
• Three million Rantai Wawasan shares worth RM1.044 billion (audited as at end-2017),
• Six million Alpine Motion shares worth RM233 million, and
• Two Ivory Insights shares worth RM80 million.
However, as the High Court and Court of Appeal only ruled Rantai Wawasan as part of the estate, she may only lay her claim there.
Aminah did not cross-appeal against the Court of Appeal decision last August.
Read also:
Jamaludin Jarjis’ widow and children considering out-of-court settlement in RM2 bil dispute
Appellate court upholds High Court ruling that Rantai Wawasan shares part of late JJ’s estate
