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| RM1.20 plunge in Tenaga’s shares yesterday a powerful no-confidence vote by the market on the appointment of Jamaludin Jarjis as new Tenaga chairman Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang (Petaling Jaya, Tuesday): Probably no corporate appointment in Malaysian history has been met with such an avalanche of adverse market reactions as Datuk Jamaludin Jarjis’ appointment as the new Tenaga Nasional Bhd. chairman, replacing Tan Sri Ahmad Tajuddin Ali. The adverse stock market reaction to Tenaga shares is a powerful vote of no confidence in Jamaludin, with Tenaga shares plunging RM1.20 yesterday, which is Tenaga’s biggest decline in two years and a 9.8 per cent dive to RM11 - the share’s biggest one-day drop since Sept 8, 1998 and the lowest since Jan 12 this year. Tenaga's fall alone dragged down the market's key share index by over one per cent yesterday. The KLSE Composite Index was down 3.1 per cent, slipping 23.50 points to 743.52. Speculation of Jamaludin's appointment had already driven down Tenaga shares, which closed 3.9 per cent lower last Friday. There was further bad news for Tenaga yesterday when Prudential-Bache Securities downgraded its ratings and 2000 profit forecast for Tenaga, cutting its call on Tenaga to "accumulate" from a "strong buy", saying the departure of executive chairman Tajuddin Ali was negative news and there was uncertainty over the capability of Jamaludin. The strongest objection to Jamaludin’s appointment as Tenaga chairman is that it is a political appointment, as he is not only UMNO MP for Rompin, but Barisan Backbenchers’ Club Chairman and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in Parliament. With his political responsibilities and commitments, there can be no public confidence in Jamaludin’s appointment as Tenaga Chairman as nobody would believe that he would be able to put public interest above political or party interests. As Jamaludin’s appointment as Chairman of one of the biggest state-run utilities companies is completely incompatible with his position as UMNO MP, BBC Chairman and PAC Chairman, Jamaluddin must choose one or the other - and if he decides to continue as Tenaga Chairman, he must relinquish his three parliamentary positions, resigning not only as Chairman of PAC and BBC, but also as MP and retire from active UMNO politics. |
| Press Statement By DAP National Vice-Chairman Lim Guan Eng In Petaling Jaya On 3.9.2000. -------------------------------------------- The New TNB Board Chairman Should Not Be Another BN Politician But Must Be A Full-Time Professional Who Can Bring TNB To Greater Heights Providing Better Service, Cheaper Rates For Consumers, Greater Efficiency And Profitability DAP opposes strongly the appointment of BN Backbenchers Club Chairman, Public Accounts Committee Chairman, BN MP for Rompin Datuk Dr Jamaludin Jarjis as the new Tenaga Nasional Bhd(TNB) Chairman. The new TNB board Chairman should not be another BN politician but must be a full-time professional who can bring TNB to greater heights by providing better service, cheaper rates for consumers, greater efficiency and profitability. Even though Dr Jamaludin Jarjis may be academically qualified as an electrical engineer, he is not professionally qualified by virtue of conflict of interests both as a politician and wide business interests in publicly-listed companies related to the energy sector. His business interests and political commitments would disqualify from this heavy responsibility of leading TNB which plays a crucial role in the country’s economic development. DAP considers it highly irresponsible of the government to entrust such an important public utility not to a full-time qualified professional but to a BN politician. If the government continues to play politics with such professional appointments, then it will lose confidence not only from the public but also from local and foreign investors that it is committed towards good corporate governance, accountability and transparency. How can we expect Datuk Dr Jamaludin to make decisions based on the best interests of consumers and TNB and not on political considerations? And TNB has many problems that requires courage and independent decision-making to resolve. Such an appointment would be retrogressive step backward that shows that cronyism and favouritism is still alive and well in Malaysia. If Datuk Dr Jamaludin Jarjis wishes to take up such a position, then he must give up his business interests and retire from politics by resigning from all his political positions including as MP for Rompin. Leading a multi-billion ringgit public utility requires his attention full-time and not spend time campaigning or lobbying to increase his political support. I am certain that there are many Malaysians who are equally if not more professionally qualified than Datuk Dr Jamaludin, except that they are not politicians. I t will be a sad day for Malaysia when political background is the main criteria for selecting professional managers, then both TNB and Malaysia can not be competitive internationally and will certainly lose out on economic performance. |