KUALA LUMPUR: A legal tussle at Peterlabs Holdings Bhd has intensified, with two of its substantial shareholders initiating a counterclaim against the company and its board, following the firm’s earlier legal move to block an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) requested to restructure its leadership.
The shareholders, Bu Yaw Seng and Datin Lin Ching Yein, who jointly hold more than 10 percent of Peterlabs, are seeking a court declaration affirming their right to call for the EGM. Their claim includes an assertion that the current board members breached their statutory duties by failing to convene the requested meeting.
Bu and Lin are also asking the court to compel the company to proceed with the EGM.
Peterlabs, a manufacturer specialising in animal health and nutrition products, confirmed the counterclaim in a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Friday and stated that it intends to “defend and resist” the action.
The counterclaim names all seven current members of the board, along with the company itself, as defendants. The board comprises non-executive chairman Datuk Lim Tai Soon, group managing director Lim Tong Seng, executive directors Teo Chin Heng and Yap Siaw Peng, and directors Datuk Ng Boon Siong, Loh Poh Im, and Ho Siew Li.
An additional board member, executive director Datuk Low Saw Foong, is currently suspended from his executive role pending the outcome of both an internal investigation and an ongoing probe by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
The conflict began last month when Bu and Lin issued a formal notice requesting an EGM with the intention of removing seven directors, including Tai Soon, Tong Seng, Teo, Yap, Boon Siong, Ho, and alternate director Ng Kau. In their place, they proposed appointing two new directors — Datuk Wira Pua Kim An and Datuk Seri Garry Chua Kah Seng.
Notably, two board members — Loh and the suspended Low — were not included in the removal proposal put forward by the shareholders.
The unfolding boardroom battle underscores growing shareholder dissatisfaction and governance tensions within the company, which may have broader implications for its leadership and strategic direction.
-The Edge Malaysia
