VIKNESH SELVANATHAN

tgewrwerwe

Managing Partner & Co-founder

VIKNESH SELVANATHAN

Advocate & Solicitor of High Court of Malaya

Qualifications

LL.B (Hons) (University of London)

C.L.P (Malaya)

Practice Areas

Direct Contact

Email : viknesh@vikneshyap.com
Tel : +603 – 6413 0488 (Ext. 104)

Personal Motto: “Be the Difference”

Viknesh is the co-founder and managing partner of the Firm. Viknesh also previously served the Board of Directors of Hitachi Systems Digital Services (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. as Non-Executive Director having been appointed by the Company where he served for a period of 5 years. Recently, Viknesh was appointed to the Board of Advisors of E3 Capital Sdn. Bhd., a community-driven based corporation empowering Malaysian entrepreneurs nationwide as its Legal Advisor having acknowledged his skills, expertise, knowledge and contributions to the company.

Viknesh is a highly experienced litigator and has throughout his years of practise, appeared at all levels of the Courts of Malaya and even assisted counsels at the Federal Court sitting in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah on timber disputes. Through these experiences which he has harnessed over the years that he is able to provide effective advise and pragmatic solutions to clients in the different areas of conflict resolutions stemming from complex breaches of contracts to obtaining urgent court-sanctioned injunctions, amongst others. Viknesh’s thoughtful research of the intricacies of law and legal submissions have seen some of his cases reported in the legal journals as case studies.

In addition to the many corporate and commercial litigation, Viknesh also represents several Management Corporations and Joint-Management Bodies in recovery actions against defaulters under the Strata Management Act, 2013.

Aside from litigation, he also provides advisory services on a retainer basis and assists Business Partners in drafting, vetting and amending corporate and commercial contracts and cross border transactions. Viknesh also occasionally conducts legal workshops and presentations in the various areas of contract and commercial laws.

Prior to establishing and co-founding VY, Viknesh was the head of litigation in a well established law firm from 2010 until his departure in 2013 to set up his own practice which has transcended from a sole proprietorship into what it is today with an ever-growing presence.

As testament to his credentials as a proven and distinguished lawyer, Viknesh has featured in Asia Business Outlook Magazine September issue as the ‘Top 10 Most Promising Corporate Legal Advisors in Malaysia 2024’.

Executive and Other Positions:

Secretary for E3 Hubs’ F & B Committee – Central Region
Legal Advisor to the Mont’ Kiara Residents Association or “MKReA” (formerly known as Mont’ Kiara Community Society or “MKCS“)
Non-Executive Director of Hitachi Systems Digital Services (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.
Former Member of Rotary Club of Damansara Heights
Former Director and Treasurer of Rotary Club Damansara Heights Year 2018/2019

Some of Viknesh’s Career Highlights

TENAGA NASIONAL BHD. v. TETANGGA BAHAGIA SDN. BHD. [2014] : Appointed as lead counsel by lawyers for the Plaintiff, a government-linked power utility provider company, to lead and spearhead the team for full trial at the Shah Alam High Court due to the high complexity of the issues raised by the defendant, a prawn farm company, in the case which involved theft of electricity and tampering of the meters whilst operating the prawn farms. Our Mr. Viknesh as lead counsel successfully secured the decision of the High Court in favour of the Plaintiff with the damages sought which were for loss of revenue of over RM 1 million.
BRILLIANT LTP BUILDERS SDN BHD v. MERBAU JATI CORPORATIONS SDN BHD [2017] – Acted for a Subcontractor in commencing a Civil Suit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court (Construction Division) to successfully claim for outstanding progress payments & general damages against its main contractor for unlawful and wrongful termination of the contract worth RM 14,000,000-00 under the PRIMA Project.
NAGAMAS VENTURE SDN BHD v. SILVERLAND CAPITAL SDN BHD [2022] –Successfully defended a property development company against a summary judgment claim brought by the plaintiff for an alleged repayment sum of RM 4.4 million based on a Settlement Agreement entered into between parties.
COSMO MAJU SDN BHD v. ERALLEX SDN BHD & ANOR [2021] : Acted for the main contractor under a ‘turnkey’ project of a manufacturing factory situated in Malacca at the Shah Alam Sessions Court and successfully claiming for damages against the subcontractor for breach of contract in having delivered and supplied goods and materials which did not correspond with the description, sample and specifications as agreed causing delays to the completion of the project.
KAMCO ALUMINIUM SDN BHD v. MAZLAN BIN SALLEH & 3 ORS. [2019] – Acted for and successfully defended the Client, a company involved in manufacturing and supplying of aluminium sheets locally and internationally, at the Labour Court all the way to the Court of Appeal, against claims brought by long serving employees based on a relocation exercise after these employees opted not to follow the company and instead claimed for unfair dismissal and sought payments in the form of retrenchment benefits & compensation.
HEMAVATHI VENKITARAMAN v. EURO CHAIRS MANUFACTURER (M) SDN BHD [2020] : Successfully defended a subsidiary of a public-listed company engaged in manufacturing, exporting & supplying office furniture, against claims brought by its former employee for alleged unfair dismissal whilst being on medical leave with some of the medical certificates having being produced during her absence.
Successfully acted for and defended the Client, a company in the business of providing security personnel, & its Directors & officers at the Malacca Magistrates Court for quasi-criminal charges brought by the Labour Department or ‘Jabatan Tenaga Kerja’ against the company, its Directors and officers for offences under the National Wages Consultative Council Act 2011 and Minimum Wages Order 2012 whereby the charges brought by the Prosecution were dismissed at the prosecution stage without the need for our Client, its Directors & officers to call for and enter their defences.

Appointed by Client, a reputable multinational company in the business of system integration and in particular cybersecurity systems, to conduct a 2 days presentation and workshop on the topic of ‘Contract Management’ attended by all the Heads and Management in its Contract Department.
Represented and acted for the Board of Directors of a public listed company involved in property development to attend several meetings with local state government officials and authorities which included the TYT Datuk Bandar and headed negotiations which successfully led to parties reaching an amicable out of court resolution & settlement after the collapse of a land swap development project worth multimillions of Ringgits which were ‘all up in the air’ after previous negotiations stalled without any results with parties initially contemplating legal actions against each other prior to our Mr. Viknesh’s engagement.
Acted for and represented Client, a company in the property development industry and successfully obtained a Fortuna Injunction at the Kuala Lumpur High Court against Indah Water Konsortium (“IWK”) restraining it from commencing winding-up proceedings against the Client for alleged outstanding sewerage charges running in hundreds of thousands of Ringgits in the absence of a judgment against the Client.
Successfully defended a Client, a company in the travel and tours industry, after full trial against a Suit commenced by the plaintiff for the recovery of monthly leasing charges allegedly due and owing and for the remaining unexpired periods under the leasing term upon termination of the leasing agreement which occurred during the Covid-19 period which invoked the application of the Temporary Measures for Reducing the Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Act 2019.
Acted for a Client, a company in the property development industry & successfully set aside a Judgment in Default obtained by Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) against the Client for alleged outstanding sewerage charges at the Kuala Lumpur Magistrates Court during the period of CMCO running into hundreds of thousands of Ringgits. The Client was allowed by the Court to enter appearance & defend the matter. IWK later withdrew the Civil Suit & resolved the matter with the Client amicably out of Court.
Represented and acted for the Board of Directors of a public listed company which is involved in property development to negotiate and agree on a Joint-Venture Agreement which turned stale between the Client and the Main Contractor which was awarded a multimillion Ringgits development project by the Ministry of Education (MOE) which encompassed a ‘land swap’ deal.
Acted for and successfully defending a Client, a company in the property development industry, against residential purchasers commencing legal actions against it for alleged defects within the defects liability period under the Sales & Purchase Agreements.