KUALA LUMPUR: Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings Sdn Bhd (Prolintas) says that the claims and allegations by 20 DASH subcontractors in seeking to recover over RM100 million have "no basis in law".
This is given that in court orders issued in 2021, the subcontractors had agreed, among others, that there was no contractual relationship between them and the DASH project employer, and that all allegations made against the DASH project employer were withdrawn unconditionally.
Prolintas is the holding company of Projek Lintasan Damansara-Shah Alam Sdn Bhd, concessionaire of Damansara-Shah Alam Highway (DASH).
They also would not file any further claims and commence any further actions, including civil suits and ancillary proceedings, arising from the project against the DASH project employer and persons and parties related to the project.
Prolintas said it noted with concern the subcontractors claims in recent news report, and that the report contained several inaccuracies and misleading allegations that did not reflect the facts of the situation.
On payment status, Prolintas said it had fulfilled all verified and certified payment obligations to the work package contractors (WPCs) involved in the DASH project according to the terms of their respective contract.
Prolintas had also consistently adhered to the payment schedules and terms agreed upon with the WPCs.
"Prolintas, however, has no direct control over if, when and how much the WPCs pay their subcontractors,", it said.
While it sympathised with the subcontractors' plight, Prolintas said if they had not been paid by the WPCs per their respective sub-contracts, that is a matter for them to pursue with the respective WPCs.
"The specific WPC mentioned in the reports was terminated according to the terms of its contract due to persistent breaches of its obligations under the contract," it added.
"The High Court also held that there was no unconscionable conduct on the part of Prolintas and that the termination notice issued against the WPC is valid."
Prolintas also highlighted that the law firm Matthew Thomas Philip had already acted on subcontractors' behalf in the court proceedings and expressly agreed to the terms of the court order.
"Prolintas remains committed to resolving disputes in compliance with the conflict resolution mechanisms outlined in our contracts.
"This is in line with our prioritising transparency, integrity and fairness in all our dealings and our dedication to ensuring that all parties are treated equitably.
"From the above facts, it appears that the subcontractors, whose allegations have no basis in law, have thus resorted to using adverse publicity and trial by media to improperly pressure and extract a 'settlement' by duress from Prolintas to the detriment of other stakeholders."
On July 4, it was reported that Matthew Thomas, a dispute resolution law firm, had been roped in by the subcontractors to recover over RM100 million in outstanding payments.
The firm said its goal is to recover the outstanding payments owed to the subcontractors as no solution has been reached yet.
"Following disputes between Turnpike Synergy Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Prolintas), and the main contractor for the DASH highway, Panzana Enterprise Sdn Bhd, in March 2021, the subcontractors were ordered to stop work and leave the site without any prior notice, despite having completed nearly 90 per cent of the project," it said.
One of the subcontractors, Pembinaan Mohamed Nazir Meraslam Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazir Meraslam said the extended financial difficulties had led to considerable stress and uncertainty among employees and stakeholders.