Perbadanan Nasional Berhad’s (PNB) Abdul Jalil Rasheed, who today resigned from his position as group chief executive officer (CEO) and president said he had chosen the “difficult path” over enjoying the benefits of his position while having to battle his own good conscience….
“When I took this role on, I told myself I will never waver in my principles in performing my duties…
“I have always believed that no individual is larger than an institution. I have no intention to drag PNB into this. PNB must be safeguarded at all costs. Hence I have chosen the difficult path, one that is lonely and devastating for my family and me,” he said without elaborating.
Abdul Jalil said he had faced harassment during his tenure as group CEO and president. “The last straw for me was the harassment I had to endure from hate calls from unknown numbers, the hacking of my other corporate email account and my LinkedIn profile…
“The board has also approved the appointment of the successor, and the announcement will be made upon receipt of the requisite regulatory approvals,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bersatu supreme council member A Kadir Jasin claimed there were efforts by the new Perikatan Nasional government to turn PNB into a “gravy train”.
He claimed there were certain bumiputera entrepreneurs lobbying the government to get rid of Abdul Jalil so that they can make use of PNB for personal profit.,,
Meanwhile, business portal Focus Malaysia reported Stephen Hagger, the Malaysian head of investment firm Credit Suisse Securities, sent a note to investors about Abdul Jalil’s departure with the title “Politics: Eaten by the sharks”.
Hagger said Abdul Halil “knows right from wrong, is not afraid and understands markets” but is “swimming with the sharks”.
FocusMalaysia, quoted from Hagger’s notes to investors, said Jalil had “done that very rare thing in Malaysia and that is to resign in order to protect his own principles and maintain his integrity”.
“Before he started, he made it very clear that he would resign rather than cross a red line,” Hagger added.
Hagger said it was not clear what the red line was, but it was likely related to his refusal to give “side income jobs” to politicians and turn a blind eye to malfeasance.
Yesterday saw another high-profile departure of a corporate leader appointed under the previous Pakatan Harapan government, namely Petronas president and CEO Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariddin….
Zulkiflee, in his parting message, urged his colleagues to always keep to their principles.
The concept of struggling with one’s conscience and principles is of course lost on the present coup leaders in Malaysia who are using their unconfirmed time in office to try and lay hands of every source of public money to reward themselves.
Both the non-political heads of Petronas and of PNB have been thus hyena’d from their jobs in a matter of days.
Malaysians ought to be very fearful. Who will take their jobs as the signer in chief at these vital enterprises now? A relative or proxy of some PN bigwig or yet another financially illiterate ulama with a parliamentary seat who needs fed?
For those of you who had forgotten the scandalous depths to which the corruption of a decades old party of government had fallen and the illegal arts taught to its graduates (such as ‘PM8’ and Azmin Ali) this appalling display of smash and grab is surely the ultimate reminder?
Six decades of greedy decline of values under UMNO reached their apogee under Najib Razak. But nothing has yet compared to the antics of the desperate Muhyiddin, driven by Najib himself…… at the head of his “anti-corruption government”!