Mahkamah tolak rayuan penyedia jalur lebar terhadap kes semakan kehakiman SKMM

The Court of Appeals has ruled against AsiaSpace Broadband Sdn Bhd's appeals following a hearing on the fairness of the SKMM's preliminary injunction. The three-member panel comprising Judges Azhahari Kamal Ramli, Nadzarin Wok Nordin, and K Muniandy unanimously upheld the High Court's decision to dismiss two interim relief orders.

The Court of Appeals also ordered AsiaSpace to pay the legal fees of RM30,000 to SKMM. According to SKMM, the hearing involved an issue concerning AsiaSpace's spectrum allocation and proposed rollout arrangements. AsiaSpace is a Kuala Lumpur-based provider of broadband wireless services. Abdul Ghani Abdullah is the founder and executive chairman of the AsiaSpace group of companies.

Earlier, AsiaSpace challenged SKMM's decision through an extraordinary petition under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, in addition to seeking a hearing on appeal at the High Court. The High Court subsequently dismissed two interim relief orders granting AsiaSpace's request to commence a hearing, instead urging the company to first exhaust remedies available under the Act before initiating a hearing.

The Court of Appeals found no extraordinary circumstances warranting an exemption from the usual requirement, according to SKMM. The Court also ruled that disclosing crucial information fully during the interim relief grant was not justified. Furthermore, the Court determined that continuing the hearing while the extraordinary petition on the same matter was pending constituted an abuse of the court process.

"This decision reinforces the importance of adhering to the procedure for extraordinary petitions established under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, before referring to a hearing," stated SKMM in a statement.