Jamaluddin Jarjis had fallout with daughter, witness tells High Court

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 11): The late Tan Sri Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis had a fallout with his eldest daughter Nur Anis Jamaluddin in 2013, over the control of the Teras Dara Konsortium Sdn Bhd (TDK) group of companies which Jamaluddin owned, the High Court was told today.

Jamaluddin's half-brother Mohamad Najeb Ali told High Court Judge Datuk Mohd Firuz Jaffril that Nur Anis was not involved in the management of the companies owned by her father, until after his passing in 2015.
 
Najeb is the first witness in the court hearing of the inheritance dispute between Jamaluddin’s children Nur Anis and Ikhwan Hafiz and their grandmother Aminah Abdullah. Aminah is Jamaluddin's mother.

The dispute involves RM1.36 billion worth of shares in three companies under TDK — Rantai Wawasan Sdn Bhd (RM1.044 billion), Alpine Motion Sdn Bhd (RM233 million), and Ivory Insights Sdn Bhd (RM80 million).

“Nur Anis never worked for the company,” Najeb told Mohd Firuz during the witness' re-examination by lawyer Pawancheek Merican, who represented Aminah.

“[Nur Anis] tried to put board control on the management of her [late] father’s companies. Her father was not very happy. There was a fallout in early 2013 [and] after that, Nur Anis never came back to work for the company [until Jamaluddin’s passing],” Najeb said.

Najeb said this after lawyers Chew Chang Min and Habizan Habeeb Rahman, who represented Nur Anis and Ikhwan Hafiz, produced Nur Anis’ emails which discussed the management of TDK.

According to Najeb, one of Jamaluddin’s associates contacted Nur Anis and Ikhwan Hafiz after Jamaluddin’s death, to inform them of a presentation session on all the companies under the TDK group.

“If they know the companies, there was no need for a presentation six days after [Jamaluddin] died,” Najeb said.

Najeb’s claim was met with an expression of shock by Nur Anis and Ikhwan Hafiz, who attended the court hearing with other family members.

However, Najeb acknowledged that Ikhwan Hafiz has been involved with the companies for some time, and that he had been groomed by Jamaluddin to take on a managerial role.

Najeb also agreed with Habizan’s suggestion that the companies were well managed, after Jamaluddin’s passing in 2015.

Aminah, who is the plaintiff in the dispute, is asking the court to declare that she is Jamaluddin's lawful mother, hence a beneficiary of his estate and has an interest in the shares of Rantai Wawasan, Alpine Motion and Ivory Insights.

Nur Anis and Ikhwan Hafiz, who are the first and second defendants respectively, have sought mediation with Aminah previously, but failed to reach an agreement.

Click here for more property stories.