Siti Norma Yaakob J

The petitioner in this compulsory winding-up petition is an unsecured creditor who had obtained judgment against the respondent for $240,730.10 with interest and costs.

It is not denied that the respondent are hopelessly indebted to a large number of creditors, secured or unsecured and the petition is equally supported or opposed by them.

Together with the respondent, the large number of the other creditors opposing the petition are purchasers of the low cost flats that the respondent, as housing developers, are trying to complete on a housing project known as Taman Rishah, at Jelapang, Ipoh, pursuant to a joint venture agreement the respondent had with the owners of the land.

The total value of the debts owed by the respondent to all the opposing creditors amount to over $36m whilst the value of those favouring a winding-up order total just over $5m.

At the hearing of the petition, what the opposing creditors wanted was not to have the petition set aside but merely to seek a stay of the petition for a period of ten months to enable the respondent to complete constructing the flats in Phase IV of the project so that they can fulfil their obligations to the purch