Abu Bekir wins partial court approval to inspect Cahya Mata accounts

KUALA LUMPUR – The High Court has partially granted Datuk Sri Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib’s application to inspect the accounting records of Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (Cahya Mata), ordering the company to provide access to specified financial documents covering five financial years.

Abu Bekir’s lawyer, Satinder Singh Sandhu, said the court directed Cahya Mata, the first defendant, to make its accounting records for the 2021 to 2025 financial years available for inspection, Borneo Post reported on October 8.

These include management accounts, general ledgers, accounts receivable and payable ledgers, fixed assets ledgers and inventory listings.

The documents must be made available within 14 days of service of the sealed court order. The inspection is to be conducted by a company auditor appointed by Abu Bekir.

Before proceeding, the auditor must file a written undertaking with the court under Section 245(8) of the Companies Act 2016, agreeing that information obtained during the inspection will be disclosed only to Abu Bekir. A copy of the auditor’s licence must also be submitted.

The court stipulated that the order would not be sealed until the required undertaking had been filed.

The auditor is permitted to take one copy of each accounting record. Alternatively, Cahya Mata must provide photocopying facilities at RM1 per copy, if required.

However, the inspection order applies only to Cahya Mata and does not extend to the second to sixth defendants, which are its subsidiaries.

The five subsidiaries are Oiltools International Sdn Bhd, Cahya Mata Oiltools Sdn Bhd, Cahya Mata Professionals Sdn Bhd, Cahya Mata Phosphates Industries Sdn Bhd and Cahya Mata Cement Sdn Bhd.

Cahya Mata’s legal team also emphasised that the company would have 14 days to comply with the production and inspection requirements only after receiving the sealed court order.

The court’s decision to exclude the subsidiaries was made without prejudice to Abu Bekir’s right to seek further relief should access to their records become necessary to obtain a true and fair view of Cahya Mata’s affairs.

The court also granted liberty to apply and made no order as to costs.

Cahya Mata’s lawyers said they were seeking further instructions from the company on the next course of action.

Satinder appeared for Abu Bekir, while Alvin Chong, Jonathan Tay and Ezekiel Chong represented the defendants.

The ruling is the latest development in a protracted legal dispute between Abu Bekir and Cahya Mata involving corporate governance, access to financial information and his role in the company’s boardroom.

Abu Bekir, who has been a director since 1995 and previously served as deputy chairman, sought access to Cahya Mata’s accounts and those of its five subsidiaries in February 2025. The company subsequently initiated legal proceedings alleging breaches of fiduciary duties and conspiracy.

In April 2025, Cahya Mata obtained an injunction preventing Abu Bekir from attending board meetings. The High Court later lifted the injunction, and the Court of Appeal dismissed the company’s appeal in January 2026.

Despite the injunction being lifted, Abu Bekir alleged that he continued to be excluded from board and committee meetings on conflict-of-interest grounds, restricting his ability to scrutinise the company’s financial affairs.

His latest application to inspect the accounting records forms part of the broader dispute over his access to financial information and his rights and responsibilities as a director. - October 13, 2026

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