[ad_1]
Twistcode Technologies claimed that Telekom Malaysia had violated the terms of its joint venture and the Competition Act 2010, a charge Telekom Malaysia denied.
(FMT) – A local startup has announced that it is filing a multi-million ringgit lawsuit against Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) for reneging on a joint venture it established six years ago to develop accelerated artificial intelligence (AAI) for the country’s oil and gas industry.
Artificial intelligence and supercomputer specialist Twistcode Technologies Sdn Bhd said in a statement that the lawsuit was filed early this year over TM’s alleged breaches of the terms of a collaboration agreement and award letter worth nearly RM42 million agreed in January 2018.
The statement said that TM had sabotaged (the joint venture) by signing a memorandum of understanding with a foreign company on July 3, 2020, which Twistcode believes wrongly hinders healthy competition in the local cloud computing (particularly AAI) sector and violates Sections 4(1) and 10 of the Competition Act 2010.
Twistcode claimed that it had therefore lost about RM27.5 million in expenses and commitments incurred, in addition to RM14.2 million paid to TM under the purchase order issued under the letter of award.
In its defence, TM denied breaching the terms of the contract or any alleged sabotage. It also said its actions did not result in a monopoly and did not violate the Competition Act 2010.
TM also denied the existence of the cooperation agreement, saying it did not have any internal records of approving the document.
Instead, TM said Twistcode had failed to pay the balance due under the purchase order and filed a counterclaim of RM26.9 million and an unspecified amount for general damages.
In its reply, Twistcode denied liability for the counterclaim. It said TM had failed to complete the work envisaged in the purchase order.
Twistcode also said TM’s dealings with foreign entities and the unfounded police reports filed by TM against the company had severely disrupted the joint venture.
Twistcode claims it suffered financial, revenue, business and reputational losses as a result.
The lawsuit seeks an assessment of damages, including loss of revenue, business opportunities and reputation, as well as aggravated and exemplary damages.
The company said that despite investigations by the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in 2020 and 2021, it has not yet been prosecuted for the alleged violations, which has greatly damaged, complicated and impaired its reputation and business.
The case is scheduled to be heard on October 8, 2024 at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
Twistcode was represented by lawyers Mohaji Hazury & Ismail, while TM Berhad was represented by lawyers Wong & Partners.
[ad_2]
Source link
