KUALA LUMPUR – Muda vice-president Lim Weit Jiet today said the government must explain why a string of top officials from the Securities Commission (SC) have resigned, and whether it has anything to do with the withdrawal of charges against energy services firm Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd.
Lim said the responsibility falls on Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz to answer for the situation, especially due to the vital role the SC plays in ensuring confidence in Malaysia’s capital markets.
Resignation of Chairman & 3 Top Officials of Securities Commission: MOF Must Explain pic.twitter.com/7s89bHQnqH
— Lim Wei Jiet (@limweijiet) April 29, 2022
“Did these officials resign because they were dissatisfied with how authorities have dealt with the Serba Dinamik executives?” he said in a statement.
Earlier today, The Edge reported that SC managing director Foo Lee Mei, general counsel Chee Fei Meng as well as executive director of digital strategy and innovation Chin Wei Min have left the regulator.
This follows SC chairman Datuk Syed Zaid Albar tendering his resignation yesterday, with the Finance Ministry announcing that it had appointed former deputy finance minister and Umno man Datuk Awang Adek Hussin to take his place effective June 1.
Serba Dinamik and four of its senior executives were charged in December last year for submitting a false statement to Bursa Malaysia Sdn Bhd relating to the company’s record high revenue of RM6.01 billion for a 12-month period.
The SC said the individuals involved were Serba Dinamik CEO and group managing director Datuk Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah, executive director Datuk Syed Nazim Syed Faisal, group chief financial officer Azhan Azmi, and accounts and finance vice-president Muhammad Hafiz Othman.
About two weeks ago, however, the Attorney-General’s Chambers decided to withdraw the charges after a letter of representation by the accused.
Subsequently, the SC had imposed a maximum compound of RM3 million each against the oil and gas company and the senior executives involved, noting that the public prosecutor had provided written consent to the compound.
On Sunday, it was reported that the SC had lodged a police report against Serba Dinamik over allegations accusing it of acting in bad faith and not complying with procedures when carrying out its duties.
The SC confirmed in a statement that it had lodged a report against an announcement issued by Serba Dinamik on April 21, which it claimed contained statements that were “baseless and malicious.” – The Vibes, April 29, 2022
