Media Statement by Yeo Bee Yin, State
Assemblywoman for Damansara Utama on 23 June 2017 in Petaling Jaya.
On June 19, when Isa
Samad resigned as Felda Global Ventures Holdings Berhad (FGV) chairman, Prime
Minister Najib Razak appointed him as the acting chairman of the Land Public
Transport Commission (SPAD) with immediate effect “in appreciation of Isa’s
role” in FGV.
This is an absolutely
ridiculous appointment. No one will believe that Isa is the best candidate to
fill the post left vacant with the retirement of Syed Hamid Albar. Here are three main
reasons why Isa Samad should not be the chief of SPAD.
First, he is undoubtedly
incompetent. Under his chairmanship, FGV went from glory to sorry.
In 2012, when FGV went
for its US$3.1 billion initial public offering (IPO), it was the world’s second
largest IPO of the year, after only Facebook Inc’s US$16 billion IPO.
In five years, FGV’s
market capitalisation dropped more than 60% from around RM19 billion to only
around RM6 billion, meaning RM13 billion had evaporated from the original value
of the company.The share price went
from RM4.641on June 29, 2012 to only RM1.75 as of close of trading on June 23,
2017.
In addition, FGV
started with a cash surplus of RM5.09 billion in December 2012 but four years
later in December 2016, it is RM1.97 billion in debt. FGV’s current sorry state
of affairs didn’t happen overnight, it was a result of a series of missteps,
all of which were made under the watch of Isa.
Second, Isa has little,
if any, experience in public transport. He made no significant contribution in
public transport either during his over 20 years as Negeri Sembilan menteri
besar or during his one year stint as Federal Territories minister. Even as an MP, there is
no traceable record of him raising public transport issues.
The chairman of SPAD
should be someone with experience in the public transport industry and
passionate about public transport in Malaysia. I am sure there are
more suitable candidates from within the public transport sector or relevant
industries in Malaysia or within SPAD and other relevant government agencies
for the position. So, why did Najib
choose Isa over others?
Third and most
importantly, Isa has a highly-questionable integrity track record. He was found guilty of
money politics by Umno over the contest for the Umno vice-presidency in the
party polls in 2004, and was suspended by the party for three years from 2005.
The now suspended CEO
of FGV, Datuk Zakaria Arshad, was quoted by The Edge that there were instances
of direct negotiations and direct contracts in FGV, which he attempted to stop
but was overruled by the board of directors, led by Isa as non-executive
chairman.
As pointed out by my
colleague Liew Chin Tong (Kluang MP), SPAD is directly or indirectly
responsible for the RM55 billion East Cost Rail Link, RM60 billion KL-Singapore
High-Speed Rail, MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line (RM28 billion) and MRT Circle
Line (more than RM20 billion).
Therefore, how can a
person with such a questionable track record like Isa be the chief of SPAD?
Millions of Malaysians
use public transport regularly for intra-city and inter-city travel. SPAD has a
huge responsibility to improve the condition of public transport – rails,
buses, taxis and others, in terms of connectivity, frequency, cleanliness,
safety and price.
Can we entrust the
welfare of millions of Malaysians who use public transport regularly to a man,
who has proven to be incompetent and inexperienced with questionable integrity?
Even primary school children can answer this question.
Why did our prime
minister still appoint Isa, then?
Is he using his
position in government agencies to earn loyalty within Umno? For the benefit of
the millions of public transport users, we call upon Najib to immediately
revoke Isa’s appointment as acting chairman of SPAD, so as to prevent him from
creating another mess in SPAD after allegedly having done so in FGV.
