Court dismisses suit against former JPJ chief over 1Malaysia licence programme

The Kuala Lumpur High Court today dismissed a suit by eight driving institutes against former Road Transport Department (JPJ) director-general Datuk Seri Solah Mat Hassan and four others on the 1Malaysia Licence Aid (BL1M) programme. Judge Datuk Yeoh Wee Siam found that the eight driving institutes had failed to prove there was a conspiracy among the five defendants to cause them to suffer loss of income. The eight driving institutes are MSDC Sdn Bhd, Akademi Memandu Ngah Sdn Bhd, Institut Memandu IKMP (Perlis) Sdn Bhd, Jimat Canggih Sdn Bhd, Express Track Sdn Bhd, Akademi Memandu Mega Sdn Bhd, Akademi Memandu Anda Sdn Bhd and Gabungan Sekolah Memandu (Hilir Perak) Sdn Bhd. Besides Solah, the other defendants named in the suit are Umno Youth's urban affairs secretariat (SHEB) chairman, Datuk Tengku Azman Tengku Zainol Abidin, MyEG Services Berhad, JPJ director-general and the federal government. In dismissing the suit, Yeoh ordered all the plaintiffs to pay costs of RM60,000 to the defendants. In her judgment, Yeoh said there was an unofficial agreement, an understanding or arrangement by Solah, who was the then JPJ director-general, with Tengku Azman, SHEB and MyEG to implement and manage the BL1M programme. "However, there is no common purpose or intention to injure the plaintiffs or cause them economic loss and the plaintiffs have failed to prove their actual pecuniary or economic loss. "Moreover, the plaintiffs' witnesses are not the individuals who have knowledge on the method of calculation," she said, adding that there was no supporting documents to show how the calculations were done. Yeoh said the court also found the plaintiffs had failed to prove that Solah and the JPJ director-general had breached their statutory duties and responsibilities as the director-general. Solah and JPJ also did not practise discrimination against the plaintiffs, she added. Meanwhile, the court also dismissed a counter claim on abuse of court process by MyEG, which was named the third defendant in the suit, and ordered the company to pay costs of RM15,000 to the eight driving institutes. On August 15, 2012, 10 driving institutes failed a suit against Solah and four others over BL1M, claiming that the programme was unlawful. However, two of the driving institutes – Arah Muara Sdn Bhd and Akademi Memandu Kuala Pilah Sdn Bhd – filed a notice to not proceed with the summon in 2014. In the statement of claims, the plaintiffs stated that under the BL1M programme, those keen to obtain Class B2 motorcycle licence were required to pay a fee of RM199. They claimed that driving institutes which enrolled more than 300 candidates would receive RM130 and RM150 for those which enrolled below 300 candidates. The plaintiffs claimed they had never given consent for their involvement in BL1M and objected to the programme as it caused them to suffer loss of income. They had sought, among others, an injunction to prevent Tengku Azman and MyEG from implementing the BL1M programme, general damages, costs and interests. – Bernama, March 1, 2016.]]>