Wong Kian Kheong J:

A. Background

[1] This judgment will refer to parties as they were in the Sessions Court (SC).

[2] In February 2018, "Jabatan Kerja Raya" (JKR) had appointed Pembinaan & Letrik MALS Sdn Bhd (MALS) as the main contractor for a construction project in Jasin, Malacca (Project).

[3] MALS had appointed the defendant company (Defendant) as the sub-contractor for the Project [Contract (MALS-Defendant)].

[4] The Defendant had appointed the plaintiff company (Plaintiff) to do steel works in the Project (Plaintiff's Works) by way of two "Purchase Orders" dated 30 March 2018 and 30 May 2018 (2 PO's). The 2 PO's provided for, among others, "Term Payment: Back To Back Payment", ie, the Defendant was only obliged to pay for the Plaintiff's Works after the Defendant had been paid by MALS for the Plaintiff's Works (Back-To-Back Agreement).

[5] The Plaintiff's Works had been performed up to a value of RM676,857.00 [Value (Plaintiff's Works)].

[6] With regard to the Value (Plaintiff's Works), the Defendant had alleged as follows, among others:

(1) the Defendant had completed 72% of the Project (Defendant's Works) when MALS terminated the Contract (MALS-Defendant) on 23 July 2018