Former VSS employees of Utusan are demanding the final payment of RM18.9 million from insolvency administrators

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 160 former Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Berhad (UMMB) workers involved in the Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) exercise five years ago have requested UHY Advisory to settle the final payment of RM18.9 million from trust funds liquidated.

A letter of demand (LOD) dated March 3, sent through Messrs. Azmi & Associates to Messrs. Dennis Nik & Wong, representing the Company, said it was requesting that the settlement payment of $18,880 .296.11 RM is deposited into the account of Azmi & Associates.

“If we do not receive a response from you within 14 days of the date of this letter, our clients will pursue all remedies available to them, including filing a lawsuit,” the firm said in the LOD.

This comes after attorneys at the employees’ law firm sent correspondence to Messrs. Dennis Nik & Wong in December 2022 and in January and February this year to remind them.

However, the company said it had received no response.

The letters were issued following High Court Judge Nadzarin Wok Nordin’s decision of 25 October 2022 that workers who had not received full compensation after applying for the VSS were beneficiaries of the proceeds from the 29 trust properties.

The judge also declared the 29 properties owned by UMMB, including its subsidiaries, namely Utusan Publications & Distributor Sdn Bhd, U Print Sdn Bhd (in liquidation), Utusan Land Sdn Bhd and Juasa Holdings Sdn Bhd and affiliate Mediamoney Sdn Bhd.

In his opinion, Nadzarin said that the real estate includes several buildings at Jalan 5, Jalan Utusan Off Jalan Chan Sow Lin as well as Jalan 5, Seksyen 92 CSL here and Jalan P/10 Kawasan Perusahaan S/S 10 in Bangi, which have been forfeited leaseholds , which can be recognized or declared as trust assets to the plaintiff (UMMB) compared to the settlement for the VSS system.

He made the decision in the original subpoena filed by UHY Advisory as liquidator representing UMMB as plaintiff against Rosmanizam Abdullah and 159 others as defendants (VSS employees). -Bernama