Idris to look into impasse

PETALING JAYA: Former Peman­du CEO Datuk Seri Idris Jala has been appointed as an independent party to probe and give recommendations on the boardroom tussle at Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV).

“The Government has appointed (Idris) as an independent party to establish the facts of the case and recommend the way forward regarding the decision by the FGV board to suspend its chief executive officer, chief financial officer and two other senior members of the management team after consultation with all relevant parties,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a brief statement yesterday.

The relevant parties have agreed to Idris’ appointment, the PMO added.

They were Felda chairman Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad, FGV chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad, FGV group president and CEO Datuk Zakaria Arshad and FGV chief financial officer Ahmad Tifli Mohd Talha.

Felda, which is FGV’s largest share­­holder, has insisted that its representatives are included on the board.

“I am still insisting and hope FGV will respect our request to have Fel­da representatives on their board,” Shahrir told The Star yesterday.

“We have asked (for) three Felda re­­presentatives to be on FGV’s board so don’t use this incident to delay it. We are well within our rights.”

Felda has a 34% stake in FGV, the world’s largest crude palm oil producer and second largest Malaysian palm oil refiner with core businesses in plantations, logistics and sugar.

Zakaria, the son of a settler from Felda Palong 1, Negri Sembilan, is fighting the leave of absence.

He revealed that he did not agree to a number of planned investments by FGV.

Shahrir said the appointment of Felda representatives on the board would be good for FGV, given its current situation.

It will mean better governance and performance for FGV as it will have directors who represent the shareholders, he added.

“We can restore market confidence in FGV. We are the biggest shareholder, so it is rather odd that we don’t have any representation,” he said.

Shahrir said Felda wrote in to FGV after its annual general meeting in May requesting representation on its board, but had received no response so far.

He also said that although there are non-independent directors in FGV, they did not update Felda on developments.

“They don’t seem to represent Felda anymore because they don’t get back to us.

“So we are out of touch with FGV. We only know the updates from the media or annual reports,” he added.

Shahrir said Felda is supportive of any move to improve the “inte­grity, corporate governance and efficiency” of FGV.

He hoped the internal inquiry would not take too long and provide clarity on the matter.

“This is a serious situation and we view it that way because we are the biggest investors.

“So we want to see all the ma­nagement team and board of directors to stop talking and quarrelling in the open until a resolution is found,” he added.