MLJ Alerts: Apr 2026 (Appellate Court)

April 03, 2026

The Malayan Law Journal Alerts is a complimentary blog series that brings the most recently published case reports powered by Lexis+^® Malaysia.

Quote of the Month

" [The law should not rob parties off of its right to decide how best to deal and manage their affairs. There may be instances where parties would identify that it is more beneficial for them to just let sleeping dogs lie and move on from the dispute in pursuit other business opportunities elsewhere. There might be instances where parties might identify that it is not ideal to foot the bill of an expensive arbitration and just write off the debt it believed to be owed by the other party ..."

- Azimah Omar JCA

Apex Communications Sdn Bhd v Sumber Khazanah Sdn Bhd (in liquidation) and another appeal [2026] 3 MLJ 152 [CA]

Week 1 Updates

1. Hisham bin Halim v Maya bt Ahmad Fuaad & Ors [2026] 2 MLJ 517 [CA]

Coram	MOHD NAZLAN, FAIZAH JAMALUDIN AND LEONARD SHIM JJCA
Catchwords	Civil Procedure — Judicial review — Application for
Outcome	Appeal dismissed.
Counsel Names	Malik Imtiaz Sarwar (with Nizam Bashir, K Shanmuga, Lim Yvonne and Kee *** Yee) (Nizam Bashir & Assoc) for the appellant. Abd Shukor bin Ahmad (Shukor Baljit & Partners) for the first respondent. Hani Aziza bt Ismail @ Aziz (with Mohd Khairuddin bin Idris) (Assistant Legal Advisors, Selangor State Legal Advisor’s Office) for the second, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh defendants. Mohammad Sallehuddin bin Md Ali (Federal Counsel, Attorney General’s Chambers) for the third and eighth respondents. KamaruzamanMArif (with Sofiah bt Omar) (Kamaruzaman Arif & Sofiah) for the ninth respondent.

2. Muhammad Maliki bin Abdul Halim v Leftenan Kolonel Shaifullizan bin Abdul Aziz (Commanding Officer for the Fifth Battalion of the Royal Ranger Regiment) & Ors and another appeal [2026] 2 MLJ 767 [FC]

Coram	WAN AHMAD FARID CHIEF JUSTICE, NORDIN HASSAN AND VAZEER ALAM FCJJ
Catchwords	Armed Forces — Misconduct — Offence under Armed Forces Act 1972 (‘AFA’)
Outcome	Appeal dismissed; COA’s decission affirmed.
Counsel Names	Dato’ Hisyam Teh Poh Teik (Low Wei Loke, Shaharuddin bin Mohamed & Norshafika bt Mustafa with him) (Shaharuddin Hidayu & Marwaliz) for the appellant. Nur Ezdiani bt Roleb (Siti Norashikin bt Hassanor & Wan Nur Muhammad Ehsan bin Alauddin with her) (Senior Federal Counsel, Attorney General’s Chambers) for the respondent.

3. Public Prosecutor v Mohd Isa bin Abdul Samad [2026] 2 MLJ 896 [FC]

Coram	NORDIN HASSAN, LEE SWEE SENG AND CHE MOHD, RUZIMA FCJJ
Catchwords	Criminal Procedure — Appeal — Appeal against acquittal and discharge
Outcome	Appeal allowed.
Counsel Names	Afzainizam bin Abdul Aziz (Attorney General’s Chambers) for the appellant. Athimulan a/l Muruthiah (with Abu Bakar bin Isa Ramat, Mohamed Baharudeen binMohamed Ariff, Ashok a/l Athimulan,Nor Elly Etasya Affreina bt Mohd Zamri, Cheah Sin Chin dan Nur-Diana Ezlyn bt Hashim) (HafarizamWan & Aisha Mubarak) for the respondent.

Week 2 Updates

1. Shashi Kumar a/l Shanmugam (Presiden Global Human Rights Federation) & Ors v Ketua Polis Negara Polis Diraja Malaysia & Anor [2026] 2 MLJ 802 [CA]

Coram	HASHIM HAMZAH, WONG KIAN KHEONG AND WAN AHMAD FARID JJCA
Catchwords	Constitutional Law — Attorney General (‘AG’) — Prosecutorial discretion
Outcome	Appeal dismissed.
Counsel Names	T Gunaseelan (with Kumaradevan Rajadevan) (Gunaseelan & Assoc) for the appellant. Nur Idayu Amir (with Imtiyaz Wizni Aufa Othman) (Federal Counsel, Attorney General's Chamber) for the respondent.

2. Yeoh Tseow Suan v Musa bin Hassan [2026] 2 MLJ 847 [CA]

Coram	AZIMAH OMAR, CHOO KAH SING AND SHAHNAZ SULAIMAN JJCA
Catchwords	Tort — Defamation — Impugned statements
Outcome	Appellant’s appeal allowed; respondent ordered to pay to appellant costs of RM60,000 (here and below), subject to allocatur.
Counsel Names	Ambiga Sreenevasan (with Razlan Hadri bin Zulkifli, Sangeet Kaur Deo d/o Karpal Singh, Lim Wei Jit, Lee Guo Wen, Nevyn Vinosh Venudran and Harshaan Zamani) (Wei Jit) for the appellant. Mohd Khairul Azam bin Abdul Aziz (with Nur Jehan bt Abu Bakar) (Azam Aziz & Co) for the respondent.

3. Pearl Streams Sdn Bhd v Beverly Heights Resources Sdn Bhd & Anor and another appeal [2026] 2 MLJ 947 [CA]

Coram	NANTHA BALAN, MOHD NAZLAN AND AHMAD KAMAL JJCA
Catchwords	Contract — Sale and purchase agreement — Validity
Outcome	Appeal 103 allowed in part; Appeal 122 dismissed.
Counsel Names	Ramesh a/l Lachmanan (with Saravanan a/l Subramaniam) (Saravanan & Nasriq) in Civil Appeal No B-02(NCvC)(W)-103–01 of 2023 for the appellant. Imran bin Ismail (with Anis Farhana bt Mohd Soji) (Melanie) in Civil Appeal No B-02(NCvC)(W)-122–01 of 2023 for the appellant. Imran bin Ismail (with Anis Farhana bt Mohd Soji) (Melanie) in Civil Appeal No B-02(NCvC)(W)-103–01 of 2023 for the first respondent. Tan Chong Lii (with Tan Lih Choon and Lee Sze Yin) in Civil Appeal No B-02(NCvC)(W)-103–01 of 2023 for the second respondent. Ramesh a/l Lachmanan (with Saravanan a/l Subramaniam) (Saravanan & Nasriq) in Civil Appeal No B-02(NCvC)(W)-122–01 of 2023 for the first respondent. Not present and unrepresented in Civil Appeal No B-02(NCvC)(W)-122–01 of 2023 for the second respondent. Not present and unrepresented in Civil Appeal No B-02(NCvC)(W)-122–01 of 2023 for the third respondent. Hafizah Johor bt Ariff Johor (with Hafisol bin Yusoff) amicus curiae for the second and third respondents (bankrupt).

Week 3 Updates

1. Lim Kien Huat v Ho Shen Lee (M) Sdn Bhd & Ors [2026] 2 MLJ 790 [CA]

Coram	CHE MOHD RUZIMA, AZHAHARI RAMLI AND EVROL MARIETTE PETERS JJCA
Catchwords	Legal Profession — Disciplinary proceedings — Appeal to High Court
Outcome	Appeal allowed; order of High Court set aside.
Counsel Names	Self-represented for the appellant. Cyndi Chow Li Kian (with Chan Wei Yang and Hang Qiu Min) (Josephine, LK Chow & Co) for the second and third respondents. Chong Joo Tian (JT Chong Assoc) for the fourth respondent.

2. Multi-Purpose Credit Sdn Bhd v Ketua Pengarah Hasil Dalam Negeri [2026] 2 MLJ 820 [CA]

Coram	NANTHA BALAN, AZIMAH OMAR AND AHMAD KAMAL JJCA
Catchwords	Revenue Law — Income Tax — Deduction
Outcome	Appeal allowed, High Court’s decision set aside and respondent ordered to refund to appellant all tax and penalties unlawfully collected pursuant to its position in this appeal.
Counsel Names	S Saravana Kumar (with Tan Jia Hua) (Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership) for the appellant. Normareza bt Mat Rejab (with Syazana Safiah bt Rozman and Muhammad Danial Izzat bin Zulbahari) (Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia) for the respondent.

Week 4 Updates

1. Sundra Rajoo a/l Nadarajah v Leaderonomics Sdn Bhd [2026] 3 MLJ 1 [CA]

Coram	SUPANG LIAN, CHOO KAH SING AND SHAHNAZ SULAIMAN JJCA
Catchwords	Tort — Defamation — Libel
Outcome	Appeal dismissed unanimously.
Counsel Names	Edward Kuruvilla (Kuruvilla, Yeoh & Benjamin) for the appellant. HR Dipendra (with Tong Joe Jye) (Ramesh Dipendra Jeremiah Law) for the respondent.

2. Yong Shui Tian v Majlis Perbandaran Langkawi Bandaraya Pelancongan [2026] 3 MLJ 20 [CA]

Coram	HASHIM HAMZAH CJ (MALAYA), FAIZAH JAMALUDIN AND MEOR HASHIMI JJCA
Catchwords	Tort — Negligence — Local authority
Outcome	Appeal allowed with costs of RM30,000 here and below subject to allocatur; judgment of High Court set aside; appellant’s claim for damages remitted for hearing before different judge at the High Court of Alor Setar.
Counsel Names	Tseng Seng Guan (with Lily Chua and Nur Farah Farhana bt Effendy Onn) (Lily Chua & Assoc) for the appellant. Ahmad Fadzli bin Abdul Salam (with Muhammad Najwan bin Mohd Shukri) (Tawfeek Badjenid & Partners) for the respondent.

3. Yap Kim Hin & Anor v Chua Boon Hock & Ors [2026] 3 MLJ 126 [FC]

Coram	TENGKU MAIMUN CHIEF JUSTICE, ABANG ISKANDAR PCA AND HASNAH HASHIM FCJ
Catchwords	Civil Procedure — Judgments and orders — Unless order
Outcome	Appeal allowed; decisions of the courts below set aside; and respondents’ High Court suit struck off.
Counsel Names	Justin Voon (with Caroline Lim) (Justin Voon Chooi & Wing) for the appellant. Lim Kien Huat (with Bryan Ching Tze Yeo) (Lee & Lim) for the respondent.

Week 5 Updates

1. Ketua Pengarah Pendaftaran Negara & Ors v Tan Jun Yan and another appeal [2026] 3 MLJ 134 [CA]

Coram	AZIZAH NAWAWI CJ (SABAH AND SARAWAK), MOHD NAZLAN AND AZHAHARI RAMLI JJCA
Catchwords	Constitutional Law — Citizenship — Citizenship by operation of law
Outcome	Plaintiff’s appeal dismissed with no order as to costs; defendants’ appeal allowed and learned judge’s declaratory order concerning plaintiff’s citizenship under art 14(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution, read together with s 1(e) of Part II of the Second Schedule and s 2(3) of Part II of the Second Schedule to the Federal Constitution set aside with no order as to costs.
Counsel Names	Mohammad Sallehuddin bin Md Ali (Federal Counsel, Attorney General's Chambers) in Civil Appeal No W-01(A)-251–05 of 2023 for the appellants. Raymond Mah Mun Kitt (with Agalya a/p Munusamy and Alyssa Dalila bt Badli Esham) (Mah Weng Kwai & Assoc) in Civil Appeal No W-01(A)-254–05 of 2023 for the appellant. Raymond Mah Mun Kitt (with Agalya a/p Munusamy and Alyssa Dalila bt Badli Esham) (Mah Weng Kwai & Assoc) in Civil Appeal No W-01(A)-251–05 of 2023 for the respondent. Mohammad Sallehuddin bin Md Ali (Federal Counsel, Attorney General's Chambers) in Civil Appeal No W-01(A)-254–05 of 2023 for the respondents.

2. Apex Communications Sdn Bhd v Sumber Khazanah Sdn Bhd (in liquidation) and another appeal [2026] 3 MLJ 152 [CA]

Coram	WAN AHMAD FARID CHIEF JUSTICE, AZIZAH NAWAWI CJ (SABAH AND SARAWAK) AND AZIMAH OMAR JCA
Catchwords	Arbitration — Arbitration clause — Construction of
Outcome	Apex’s appealed for stay pending reference of the dispute to arbitration allowed; SKSB’s appeal denied.
Counsel Names	Edmund Bon Tai Soon (with Khor Xiou Shan and Lee Yee Woe) (AmerBON) for the plaintiff/respondent. Stanley Isaacs (with R Vasanthi and Shanthiny Ya Ting) (Isaacs & Tan) for the defendant/appellant.

3. Pantai Medical Centre Sdn Bhd & Anor v Suresh Kumar a/l Hariharan [2026] 3 MLJ 182 [CA]

Coram	AZIZAH NAWAWI CJ (SABAH AND SARAWAK), WONG KIAN KHEONG AND AZIZUL AZMI ADNAN JJCA
Catchwords	Contract — Termination — Wrongful termination
Outcome	Order accordingly.
Counsel Names	N Sivabalah (with Fazleeza bt Azli and Goh Lee Ding) (Chan Ban Eng & Co) for the appellant. AG Kalidas (with Jasmin Anne Raj, Wesley Wong Ray Fung and Parimalar Ilamaran) (K Nadarajah & Partners) for the respondent.

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