On the same day when Tan Sri Isa Samad resigned as Felda Global Ventures Holdings Berhad (FGV) chairman, Prime Minister Dato Sri Najib Razak appointed him as the acting chairman of Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat (SPAD) with immediate effect “in appreciation of Isa’s role” in FGV.
This is an absolutely ridiculous appointment. No one will believe that Isa Samad is the best candidate to fill the vacancy after the retirement of Tan Sri Dr. Syed Hamid. Below are three main reasons 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 USD 3.1 billion initial public offering (IPO), it was the world’s second largest IPO of the year, after only Facebook Inc’s USD 16 billion IPO. In five years, FGV market capitalization dropped more than 60 percent from around RM 19 billion to only around RM 6 billion, evaporating around RM13 billion. The share price went from RM 4.641 in 29th June 2012 to only RM 1.75 as of yesterday’s afternoon. In addition, FGV started with a cash pile of RM 5.09 billion in December 2012 but four years later in December 2016, it was RM1.97 billion in debt. FGV’s current sorry state of affair didn’t happen overnight, it was a result of a series of missteps, all of which were made under the watch of Isa Samad.
Second, Isa Samad has little, if any, experience in land public transport. He made no significant good contribution in public transport either during his over 20 years as Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan or during his short 1 year as Federal Territories Minister. Even as a member of parliament, there is no traceable record of him raising public transport issues. The chairman of SPAD should be someone with experience in public transport industry and passionate about public transport in Malaysia. I am sure there is more suitable candidate in the public transport sector or relevant industries in Malaysia or within SPAD and other relevant government agencies for the position. Why did Najib choose Isa Samad over others?
Third and most importantly, Isa Samad has questionable integrity track record. He was involved in money politics when he was contesting UMNO vice-presidency. 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. FGV also involved or attempted in a number of questionable deals, which erode the company’s credibility among the investors. Again, all of these happened under Isa Samad’s chairmanship.
As pointed out by my colleague Liew Chin Tong (MP for Kluang), SPAD is directly or indirectly responsible for the RM 55 billion East Cost Rail Link, RM 60 billion KL-Singapore High-Speed Rail, MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line (RM 28 billion) and MRT Circle Line (more than RM 20 billion). How can a person with such a questionable integrity track record like Isa Samad be the chief of SPAD?
Millions of Malaysians use public transport regularly for intra-city and inter-city travel. SPAD has 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 Samad? Is he using position in government agencies to earn loyalty within UMNO? For the benefits of the millions of public transport users, we call upon the Najib Razak to immediately terminate Isa Samad from the position as the acting chairman of SPAD, so to prevent him from creating another mess in SPAD after FGV.