KUALA LUMPUR – The chief executive of Entomo Malaysia, the developer of the MySejahtera app, has filed an affidavit seeking to maintain the board line-up of MySJ Sdn Bhd, the special purpose vehicle appointed by the government to take over ownership of the Covid-19 contact tracing application.
MySJ is at the centre of two separate lawsuits filed by its own shareholders claiming breaches in the shareholder agreement, the latest coming from Hasrat Budi Sdn Bhd, which owns a 10% stake in the company.
In his affidavit in response to Hasrat Budi’s suit, Entomo CEO Raveenderen Ramamoothie said the appointment of Anuar Rozhan and former Sapura Energy chief executive Tan Sri Shahril Shamsuddin as directors of MySJ was sound as the membership on the board was not meant to be limited as claimed by Hasrat Budi.
Raveenderen argued that Hasrat Budi was attempting to move away from their original position in accepting Anuar’s appointment to MySJ’s board.
“No consent is required from Hasrat Budi to appoint new directors to the board. It is only upon reaching a maximum number of six directors that consent from Hasrat Budi is required to increase or change the board’s composition,” Raveenderen said in his affidavit.
MySJ’s directors listed in its filing with the Registrar of Companies include Raveenderen, Anuar, EcoWorld Development Group executive chairman Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin and Bersatu disciplinary board chairman Tan Sri Megat Najmuddin.
However, an earlier affidavit filed by Hasrat Budi director Datuk Heah Kok Boon said that Raveenderen, Anuar, Entomo and MySJ shareholder Revolusi Asia had made attempts to disregard MySJ’s coordinating committee to control the board of directors.
Raveenderen in his affidavit said Hasrat Budi exercised its put option to compel him and Entomo to buy Hasrat Budi’s shares, which shows that Hasrat Budi is “no longer interested to be a shareholder of MySJ”.
Hasrat Budi is owned by EcoWorld Development Group, and lists two directors namely Liew and Heah, who is also EcoWorld Development’s alternative director.
In a Bursa Malaysia filing yesterday, EcoWorld Development Group Bhd confirmed that it had recently exercised its put option to recover its investment and funding costs in MySJ.
The MySejahtera controversy kicked off following the release of a report by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, which revealed that the cabinet had decided to transfer ownership of the app to MySJ, which was appointed through direct negotiation.
The issue was further complicated after it emerged that MySJ minority shareholder P2 Asset Management filed a lawsuit against MySJ and its other shareholders for breaches in the shareholders agreement. – The Vibes, April 6, 2022
