KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi has urged Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad and Datuk Zakaria Arshad to voluntarily relinquish their posts in Felda Global Ventures Holdings Sdn Bhd (FGV) in order to end the spat between them.
The Special Affairs Department (Jasa) director-general said and Isa, who is the chairman and Zakaria, who is FGV president and chief executive officer (CEO), should both take the high road and resign immediately.
“The spat between Tan Sri Isa and Datuk Zakaria which had deteriorated into a public warfare is very disappointing. It is a disgraceful episode as it shows a glaring lack of consensus.
“Let new faces take over and continue to take measures that will be beneficial to shareholders, especially the settlers.
“Neither of them should wait for the prime minister’s intervention. Concede. Resign immediately. They must be separated and moved to new and different places,” he said on his Facebook page earlier today.
Puad, who is also an Umno Supreme Council member, said it is high time to review the jurisdictions of a chairman and CEO, including who has the power to appoint board members to prevent the institution from becoming a field to achieve personal gains.
“There are times when we hear someone becomes a chairman (of a company) and then chairs several other subsidiaries.
“It does not matter if they only chair one or two (subsidiaries) but there are allegations that most subsidiaries have the same chairman. Is this a good corporate practice? Or must there be a limit to prevent monopoly and abuse?,” he asserted.
Puad stressed that Isa and Zakaria should “Wait no more”.
“Both are due to resign to prevent trust deficit that could lead to the plummeting of FGV share prices. Hopefully Federal Land Development Authority chairman Tan Sri Shahrir Samad will not keep mum for too long.” he added.
Yesterday, Zakaria, FGV group chief financial officer Ahmad Tifli Mohd Talha, Delima Oil Products Sdn Bhd senior general manager Kamarzaman Abd Karim and FGV Trading CEO Ahmad Salman Omar, were placed on forced leave pending an internal audit, following a highly-publicised boardroom tussle.