KUALA LUMPUR – Prasarana Malaysia Bhd president and group chief executive (PGCE) Muhammad Nizam Alias has been suspended, people familiar with the matter told The Vibes, without disclosing reasons.
It is understood that chief operations officer Datin Norlia Noah will be interim PGCE, and that more changes in the national transport operator’s senior leadership team and management are expected soon.
Prasarana, in an email correspondence, neither confirmed nor denied Nizam’s suspension.
“Per our normal practice, we do not comment on matters such as this,” said a spokesman last Wednesday.
Nizam has not responded to The Vibes’ attempts to get a comment.
Industry sources attribute his suspension to a testy relationship at the leadership level since Pasir Salak MP Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman was appointed chairman.
The Umno strongman was picked for the top job as part of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s move to reward loyalists with plum posts in government-linked companies after the prime minister’s Perikatan Nasional wrested power from Pakatan Harapan on March 1.
Tajuddin is also Umno’s polls director for the 15th general election.
This is not the first time Prasarana, which is owned by Ministry of Finance Inc and governed by the Transport Ministry, has suspended its PGCE.
Nizam’s predecessor, Datuk Mohamed Hazlan Mohamed Hussain, received the same treatment on December 24 last year on the back of public dissatisfaction over the group’s light rail transit (LRT) services. Nizam, the then COO, filled in, and was later bumped up to PGCE.
Prasarana maintains and operates Malaysia’s two LRT networks, namely the Kelana Jaya line and Ampang-Sri Petaling line, as well as the KL Monorail, bus rapid transit Sunway line, and bus services in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kuantan and Kamunting. It is also the operator of the mass rapid transit service in the Klang Valley.
But, the group has been bleeding red ink since 2014. According to its latest financial results ended December 31 last year, Prasarana registered a loss of RM3.61 billion on the back of RM842.09 million in revenue. Its total liabilities for the year stood at RM35 billion compared to total assets of RM1.29 billion.
External auditor Ernst & Young PLT, in Prasarana’s 2019 annual report, said as liabilities exceeded assets, “these conditions indicate the existence of material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt on the group’s and the company’s ability to continue as a going concern and, therefore, the group and the company may be unable to realise their assets and discharge their liabilities in the normal course of business”. – The Vibes, December 8, 2020
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