Abu Bekir files suit against Cahya Mata over boardroom exclusion

KUCHING (April 8): Datuk Seri Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib has filed a lawsuit against Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (Cahya Mata), alleging that he was unlawfully barred from attending a board meeting.

Cahya Mata said in a filing on Tuesday that Abu Bekir, its deputy group chairman and director, filed an originating summons dated April 2, against the company and 10 others at the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak.

The summons was served on the company on April 6.

In a separate filing on the same day, Cahya Mata announced that Abu Bekir has been redesignated as a non-independent and non-executive director with immediate effect.

In the suit, Abu Bekir is seeking several declarations, including that he is only in a conflict-of-interest position when ongoing legal actions are deliberated at board meetings, and not otherwise.

He is also seeking a declaration affirming his right as a director “to attend and participate in all the meetings of the board of directors”, and “can only be required to recuse himself only at the point when the board is about to deliberate the pending actions.”

Additionally, he is requesting a declaration that his exclusion from the 328th board meeting held on Feb 24, 2026, was “unlawful, null and void”.

The suit further seeks an injunction to prevent the defendants from excluding him from board meetings, except when matters relating to the ongoing legal proceedings are being deliberated.

Abu Bekir is also seeking access to board meeting minutes between April 9, 2025, and Jan 31, 2026, and an order requiring the company to include the relevant legal proceedings as agenda items in future meetings, with prior notice for him to recuse himself when necessary.

Cahya Mata maintained that there is a conflict of interest arising from ongoing legal actions involving Abu Bekir.

These include an earlier originating summons filed by him against the company, as well as a separate suit initiated by Cahya Mata and its subsidiary, Cahya Mata Intelligent Technologies Sdn Bhd, against Abu Bekir and five others.

Cahya Mata said both cases are pending final determination by the court and were among the matters discussed at the board meeting in question.

Further, Cahya Mata said it is in the process of appointing solicitors and will take the necessary steps to defend the originating summons to safeguard its interests.

It added that the legal action is not expected to have any material impact on its earnings per share or net assets per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2026, nor will it affect its operations.