PUTRAJAYA: Former Pahang menteri besar Tan Sri Adnan Yaakob has lost his appeal to set aside an RM84,000 penalty imposed by the Securities Commission (SC) for violating the Capital Market and Services Act 2007 (CMSA).
A three-judge panel led by Justice Datuk Azimah Omar ruled that Adnan should have pursued a judicial review to contest the penalty, stating his appeal was bound to fail on that basis. The bench, which included Justices Datuk Wong Kian Kheong and Datuk Ismail Brahim, also ordered Adnan to pay RM10,000 in legal costs.
Adnan, who served as Pahang MB from 1999 to 2018, was a director of Pasdec Holdings Bhd (PASDEC), a company majority-owned by the Pahang State Development Corporation (PKNP). The SC found that PASDEC had issued an abridged prospectus in 2018 omitting key details, including PKNP’s pending application to subscribe to shares at RM0.35 per unit.
As a board member, Adnan admitted responsibility for the oversight. The SC issued a notice in July 2020, reprimanding him and imposing the RM84,000 fine. After Adnan failed to pay, the regulator filed a civil suit in Kuantan’s Magistrate’s Court, which ruled in the SC’s favour in 2022. His subsequent High Court appeal was dismissed in February 2023.
Representing himself, Adnan argued that his PASDEC role was a state appointment and absolved him of liability. However, SC lawyer Lambert Rasa-Ratnam countered that Adnan had missed the opportunity to challenge the penalty via judicial review. – Bernama