Stereofonik Teknologi Sdn Bhd filed the suit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on March 17, naming the Parliament chief administrator and the federal director-general of the Lands and Mines Department as defendants, The Vibes reported.
The company is seeking a declaration of its right to undertake the project, an order to approve the 30-year long-term grant and an unspecified amount of damages. The company is also asking for an injunction against the termination of the rental agreement.
It its statement of claim, Stereofonik said it was appointed to undertake the project after making several presentations to various officials, including former Dewan Rakyat speaker Ariff Md Yusof and his successor Azhar Harun.
Stereofonik said the Parliament’s former chief administrator Kamis Samin signed a letter of undertaking on Sept 24, 2020, appointing the company to lead the project.
The Parliament administration later offered to rent two Public Works Department (JKR) quarters for the club project.
According to The Vibes, the statement of claim pointed out that a site visit by Parliament administration staff, led by Kamis, was held on Nov 11, 2020.
“Architects who were present and Kamis agreed to support giving the plaintiff (Stereofonik) a 30-year grant along with a rental reduction. The rental rate agreed upon was RM1,000 for each building,” the statement said.
A few weeks later, Parliament’s Civil Service Housing Management Committee approved the addition of three more JKR quarters to ensure the club would be a five-star facility in line with Parliament’s image.
The following month, the Parliament administration issued a letter of support for Stereofonik’s proposal for a 30-year long-term grant and rental reduction.
However, Stereofonik claimed that the federal land office did not approve it, which caused the company to incur financial losses and operating costs from December 2020 to February 2023.
The company said after Nor Yahati Awang took over as Parliament’s chief administrator in January 2021, she terminated the rental agreement despite having been briefed about the project and her predecessor’s letter of support.