KUALA LUMPUR: Pertama Digital Bhd (PDB) today announced the appointment of Sabri Ab Rahman as executive director and Datuk Dr Suhazimah Dzazali as independent non-executive director.
The company in a Bursa Malaysia announcement said the appointment of the two industry heavyweights to its board of directors is aimed to intensify efforts to challenge the mobile and digital space related to e-government services.
Sabri has worked in several industries including banking and finance, automobile, outdoor advertising, TV programme production and distribution, trading and sales and broadcasting.
He has been actively involved in the development of private television operations in Malaysia since the inception of TV3, which subsequently acquired Metrovision in 1996 and was involved in consolidation of the TV3 group into Media Prima Bhd in 2000.
In that same year, Sabri founded DAPAT Vista (M) Sdn Bhd, in which PDB has invested, to expand government services through mobile technology.
Now, as executive director in both PDB and DAPAT Vista, Sabri oversees the implementation of mobile and digital solutions for e-government services.
Meanwhile, Dr Suhazimah had spent almost 35 years in public service, last holding the post of deputy director general (ICT) and government chief information officer (GCIO) in the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) in the Prime Minister's Department.
She was also previously the public sector ICT consultant (Information Security Management) and was responsible for several transformative programmes in the government including the computerisation and modernisation of the Immigration Department.
She has been recognised as among the World's 100 Most Influential People in Digital Government 2019 by the entrepreneur-government cooperation platform Apolitical, and as the Information Security Professional of the Year 2013 by Cyber Security Malaysia - Awards, Conference & Exhibition.
The two appointments are the latest signal of PDB's serious focus on its pivot from the textile business under its former name, Sinotop Holdings Bhd, into the mobile and digital space.
In April, PDB had also welcomed former chief justice Tun Dato' Seri Zaki Tun Azmi onto its board. It is understood that PDB's succession plan involves Tun Zaki assuming chairmanship of the company in the near future.
Further, PDB's investee, DAPAT Vista, is a tech-driven Malaysian company that provides solutions in mobile and web apps, mobile payment, messaging, business empowerment application programming interfaces (API) and other customised digital services and products.
DAPAT also owns and operates the mySMS gateway and the MyPay and eJamin apps.
"These highly sought-after individuals in Malaysia's mobile and digital space will complement our mission to fuel impactful, inclusive govtech and fintech initiatives across Malaysia.
"They bring with them a wide range of experience and accomplishments, which is exactly what we need in our current exciting growth phase," PDB in a statement said.