Khazanah replaces Iskandar boss
http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC101009-0000081/Khazanah-replaces-Iskandar-boss
KUALA LUMPUR - In a surprise
move, Malaysian state-owned investment firm Khazanah Nasional has
replaced Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB) president and CEO Arlida
Ariff before her contract was set to end in December.
While speculation had been rife that Ms Arlida's three-year
contract would not be renewed, few expected Khazanah to replace her
before her term was up. The announcement was made on Friday by
Khazanah managing director Azman Mokhtar in a meeting with IIB
staff, The Star reported.
Mr Azman also announced that former DRB-Hicom director for property
and infrastructure Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim would succeed Ms
Arlida next month.
The news comes as the Malaysian Finance Ministry said earlier in
the week that it could launch a probe into IIB, following
revelations of alleged irregularities in the awarding
infrastructure contracts.
Deputy Finance Minister Donald Lim said the government was waiting
for the results of an IIB internal audit before making its next
move, according to The Sun. It had reported that an internal audit
by Ernst and Young, which was ordered by Khazanah, had discovered
"confirmation" of some allegations, including "the awarding of
projects to the proxies and relatives of senior IIB
executives".
The audit was started after Khazanah's board received complaints of
alleged kickbacks, inflated costs and questionable procurement
procedures, the newspaper added.
Singapore has voiced its support for Iskandar Malaysia, which has
been wooing the Republic's business community.
On Sept 20, after sealing a landmark land swap deal, Singapore
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib
Razak reaffirmed their commitment to having a 50-50 joint venture
company between Temasek Holdings and Khazanah to develop a township
venture in the Iskandar, among other agreements.
Citing the joint venture and the rapid transit system link between
Singapore and Johor Baru, Mr Lee had said: "These are issues which
are proceeding in parallel, and we look forward to them succeeding
and helping to deepen expansion of bilateral cooperation between
our two countries."
- Today 09/10/10