Court of Appeal rejects Asiaspace appeals, orders RM30,000 costs to MCMC
A three-member bench unanimously upheld the High Court's decision setting aside two ex parte leave orders for judicial review of MCMC's regulatory decisions.
KUALA LUMPUR – The Court of Appeal has dismissed two appeals filed by wireless broadband service provider Asiaspace against the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), ordering the company to pay the commission a total of RM30,000 in costs.
MCMC said a three-member bench comprising Justices Azhahari Kamal Ramli, Nadzarin Wok Nordin and K Muniandy unanimously upheld the High Court's decision to set aside two ex parte leave orders.
According to the commission, the proceedings concerned its regulatory decisions related to Asiaspace's spectrum assignment and its proposed service rollout arrangements.
Asiaspace is a Kuala Lumpur-based wireless broadband service provider. Abdul Ghani Abdullah is the founder and executive director of the Asiaspace group of companies.
Asiaspace had challenged MCMC's decisions through the statutory appeal mechanism under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA) while also seeking a judicial review before the High Court.
The High Court subsequently set aside two ex parte leave orders that had granted Asiaspace leave to commence judicial review proceedings, prompting the company to file separate appeals against each decision.
In dismissing the appeals, the Court of Appeal held that the statutory remedies available under the CMA must first be exhausted before judicial review proceedings could be commenced.
The court found no exceptional circumstances that justified departing from that requirement, MCMC said.
It also found that material information had not been fully disclosed when leave to commence the judicial review proceedings was sought.
The court further held that pursuing judicial review proceedings while statutory appeals concerning the same subject matter were ongoing amounted to an abuse of the court process.
"The decision reinforces the importance of observing the statutory appeal framework established under the CMA before recourse is made to a judicial review," MCMC said in a statement.
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