KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 15): The late Tan Sri Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis named two of his four children as trustees for the entire stake in his billion-ringgit company Rantai Wawasan Sdn Bhd, currently a subject of the ongoing dispute between the two children and their grandmother.
However, it was revealed at the High Court today that the beneficiary for the trust was the late minister himself, and that two deeds of the trust to divide the shares equally among his four children were executed eight months after his death in April 2015.
This was raised by Jamaluddin's half-brother Mohamed Najeb Ali, who testified as the first witness in the dispute, where Jamaluddin's mother Aminah Abdullah is claiming a stake in RM1.3 billion of the late minister's estate from her grandchildren Nur Anis Jamaluddin and Ikhwan Hafiz Jamaluddin.
During the examination-in-chief by Aminah's lawyer Pawancheek Merican, Najeb pointed to two deeds of trust made on March 11, 2009 — one between Jamaludin and Nur Anis, and another between Jamaluddin and Ikhwan Hafiz.
The court was shown that Nur Anis is the trustee for 2.1 million shares in Rantai Wawasan, while Ikhwan Hafiz is the trustee for another 900,000 shares in the company.
"To my understanding, the deceased is the beneficiary of these trusts, and the defendants are trustees," Najeb testified.
"What I understand from these documents is that, you know, the shares, in these companies, belong to the beneficiary," he added.
He then pointed out that two other trust deeds were made on Dec 31, 2015 to equally divide the 3 million combined stake in Rantai Wawasan among Jamaluddin's children, namely Nur Anis, 34; Ikhwan Hafiz, 32; Nurul Alyaa, 28; and Noor Adilla, 24.
Najeb disagreed with the suggestion that the late Jamaluddin gave his consent for the two subsequent deeds to be drawn up.
The witness, however, did not say who asked for the deeds to be made.
Later during Najeb's cross-examination, the defendants' lawyer Habizan Habeeb Rahman said he will point out how the 2009 trust deeds were never meant to be acted upon until something went wrong.
Jamaluddin, who was formerly science and technology minister, passed away along with five others in a helicopter crash in Semenyih, Selangor on April 4, 2015.
Aminah is asking the court to declare that she is Jamaluddin's lawful mother, and hence a beneficiary of his estate and has an interest in the shares namely:
- three million Rantai Wawasan shares worth RM1.044 billion (audited as at end-2017);
- six million Alpine Motion shares worth RM233 million, and
- two Ivory Insights shares worth RM80 million.
The plaintiff and defendants have sought mediation previously, but failed to reach an agreement. The hearing continues before High Court Justice Datuk Mohd Firuz Jaffril today.