Ruban is a dispute resolution lawyer in the Construction and Engineering practice and is also a member of the Occupational Safety & Health and Environmental Crisis Management practice group in Skrine.
He has experience in various aspects and stages of construction and engineering projects and has advised clients on a range of issues from procurement to contract administration, and the avoidance and resolution of disputes.
Ruban is familiar with the entire range of dispute resolution processes including litigation, arbitration, adjudication and mediation.
Key Practice Areas
- Construction Litigation, Arbitration and Adjudication
- Oil & Gas, and Energy Disputes
- Regulatory Compliance (Construction, Occupational Safety and Environmental)
- Occupational Safety and Health & Environmental
- Acted as junior counsel for a public listed company in an arbitration involving disputes in relation to the construction of a mixed development involving a hotel, service apartments and car park with an amount of dispute of approximately RM 90 million.
- Acted as junior counsel for a public listed company in an arbitration concerning claims arising from the construction of a cooling water pump house for a 2 x 300 MW power plant with an amount in dispute of approximately RM36 million.
- Acted as junior counsel for a multinational company in a suit involving disputes in relation to the construction of a mixed development project comprising of a hotel, service apartments and a retail podium with an amount in dispute of approximately RM 56 million.
- Acted as junior counsel for one of Malaysia’s largest highway concessionaires in successfully dismissing an injunction application from one of its contractors to restrain the call on a performance bond. The dispute was in relation to the construction of an elevated expressway with a project value of RM 315 million.
- Acted as junior counsel for a multinational company in successfully dismissing an injunction application from one of its contractors to restrain the call on a performance bond. The dispute was in relation to the piling, raft foundation and associated works for the Tun Razak Exchange Lifestyle Quarter with a contract value of approximately RM 140 million. See the grounds of judgment in BSG Construction (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd v Lendlease Projects (M) Sdn Bhd [2019] 6 AMR 228, HC.
- Acted as junior counsel for a contractor against the Government of Malaysia in relation to the termination of the contractor’s employment for a public sector project. See the grounds of judgement in relation to the contractor’s application for an interlocutory injunction in Dhaya Maju LTAT Sdn Bhd v Kerajaan Malaysia & Ors [2021] MLJU 1253.
- Acted as junior counsel for a contractor against a government body in an application to refer questions of law arising out of the arbitral award pursuant to Section 42 of the Arbitration Act 2005. See the grounds of judgment in Chain Cycle Sdn Bhd v Kerajaan Malaysia [2016] 1 MLJ 681, CA.
- Acted as junior counsel for a public listed company in an adjudication involving disputes in relation to the construction of a mixed development involving a hotel, service apartments and car park. The adjudication proceeding eventually led to the filing of applications to set aside and/or enforce adjudication decisions under CIPAA 2012. See the grounds of judgment in Terminal Perintis Sdn Bhd v Tan Ngee Hong Construction Sdn Bhd and another case [2017] MLJU 242.
- Acted as junior counsel for a public listed company in an adjudication involving disputes in relation to the engineering, procurement and construction management services and equipment and material supply related to the design and construction of a chemical plant in Kerteh for the production of petrochemical derivate products used in the manufacturing and oil and gas industry. The adjudication proceeding eventually led to the filing of applications to set aside and/or enforce adjudication decisions under CIPAA 2012. See the grounds of judgment in Foster Wheeler E & C (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd v Arkema Thiochemicals Sdn Bhd and another case [2015] MLJU 1952.
- Represented parties in an array of mediations under the Court mediation system.
- Acted as junior counsel for a subsidiary of a Malaysian oil and gas public listed company against the State-owned electrical company concerning a 300MW gas-fired power plant with an amount of dispute of more than RM 250 million.
- Representing a public listed company involved in electricity production in a dispute with a customer regarding the interpretation of a clause of a sale and purchase of electricity agreement, requiring the customer to purchase, receive and pay for a minimum amount of electricity.
- Acted as junior counsel for a Government linked oil and gas corporation against the rig owner in a dispute for claims arising from breach of contract and negligence due to collision of a rig.
- Advised on the implications of non-registration with the Board of Architects and Board of Engineers etc.
- Advised on the regulatory requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994.
- Advised on the regulatory requirements of the Lembaga Pembangunan Industri Pembinaan Malaysia (CIDB) Act 1994.
- Advised on the regulatory requirements of the Environmental Quality Act 1974.
- Acting as co-counsel for a public listed company in an action by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Malaysia in relation to a charge under Section 17 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994. The incident occurred when a highly pressurised pipe snapped causing the death of a contractor who was working on site.
- Advised and acted as co-counsel for a multinational company in an action by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Malaysia in relation to a charge under Section 15 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994. The incident occurred when a heavy load which was being lifted using an Overhead Travel Crane fell, leading to the death of a technician who was working in the manufacturing mill.
- Acted as junior counsel for the subsidiary of a multinational company in an action by the Department of Environment, Malaysia in relation to a charge under Section 25 of the Environmental Quality Act 1974.
- Acted as junior counsel for a large Japanese heavy industries manufacturer in a criminal suit for allegedly failing to ensure that persons other than employees were not exposed to risks to their safety or health under OSHA. The incident occurred when a local and a foreign worker died following an ammonia leakage in the plant.
- Advised a subsidiary of Swiss parent company for breaches under the OSHA resulting from a fatal workplace accident at a cement plant which caused three deaths.
- Acted as junior counsel for a leading gas infrastructure and utility company against a subsidiary and its Singaporean parent company in a civil suit for losses and damages and injunctive relief in respect of unlawful discharge of industrial effluent onto our client’s land, which caused the corrosion and leakage of the gas pipeline.
Qualifications:
- Advocate & Solicitor, High Court of Malaya
- Barrister-At-Law, The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, London
- LL.B (Hons) University of Sheffield
Professional Affiliations:
- Secretary of the Society of Construction Law, Malaysia
- Member of the Bar Council Arbitration and Construction Law Sub-Committee
Publications:
- Co-author, “A commentary on the Malaysian Court of Appeal case of Chain Cycle Sdn Bhd v Government of Malaysia”, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Malaysia Newsletter, 2016
- Author, “Retention Sums – Is it Really Yours”, Skrine’s Legal Insights, July 2019
- Author, “Federal Court: Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act 2012 is prospective”, Skrine’s E-Alerts October 2019
- Author, "Sole Proprietors - Do you have the legs to stand on your trade names?" Skrine’s Legal Insights, November 2022
- Contributing Editor, “Annotated Statutes for the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994”
- Co-author, “Halsbury’s Law of Malaysia: Building and Construction”
- Co-author, “The New AIAC Arbitration Rules 2023”, Skrine’s Legal Insights and Lexology
- Co-author, “What You Need to Know: Frequently Asked Questions on the Amendments to the Occupational Safety and Health Act”, Skrine’s Legal Insights, Lexology and AMCHAM
Talks:
- Speaker, “Occupational Safety Crisis Management – Being in Control of Your Exposure” on 16th April 2019
- Speaker, “Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994” on 17th January 2020
- Speaker, “Amendments to the Occupational Safety and Health Act”, series of talks from March to June 2022
- Speaker, “Navigating Construction Disputes”, on 22nd July 2022
- Speaker, “Construction Disputes: Making a Claim and Recent Legal Developments”, on 13th April 2022
- Speaker, “The Amended Occupational Safety and Health Act”, at the “Embracing Change in Employment Conference” organised by the Malaysian Society for Labour and Social Security Law on 9th March 2023
- Speaker at the “Arbitration Practicum” Workshop organised by the Bar Council Arbitration and Construction Law Committee on 26th May 2023
- Speaker on “Disputes in Public Sector Projects: The Way Forward” organised by the Borneo International Centre for Arbitration and Mediation (BICAM) on 8th May 2024
- Speaker “Amendments to the Occupational Safety and Health Act”, on 10th May 2024
- Listed as "Rising Star" in Real Estate and Construction by Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2021 – 2022.
- Listed as “Next Generation Partner” in Real Estate and Construction by Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022 – 2023.