FELDA chairman Shahrir Abdul Samad has called for a gag order for Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) chairman Isa Samad and suspended FGV CEO Zakaria Arshad, whose public feud has led to finger-pointing and people taking sides on news reports and online, Berita Harian Online reported today.

Shahrir also called for the impending inquiry into Zakaria to be speeded up to quickly bring the matter to an close.

“I hope that whatever they (FGV board of directors) are questioning in terms of an inquiry on Zakaria, I hope it will be done quickly and fairly. Do not delay,” said Shahrir.

The inquiry, he said, should also be conducted fairly so as not to leave no doubt that may give rise to claims and accusations in future.

“As chairman of Felda, I want to see to this and Felda folk want to see this (a swift and fair inquiry) because it involves four senior officers who were told to go on leave.

“I thought it was only Zakaria, but  four were told to go on leave. This must be done to avoid any more issues (cropping up) in blogs or the social media, where people are talking about a supposed scapegoat and people are pointing fingers. This (inquiry) needs to be expedited.” 

In the interim, Shahrir said, Zakaria and Isa should not be allowed to make further comment on the matter.

“These two (Zakaria and Isa) should avoid issuing statements which could make things worse,” he said.

Persatuan Anak Peneroka Felda Kebangsaan (Anak) yesterday weighed in on the Isa vs Zakaria row, calling the former a “liability from day one” who should be sacked instead of Zakaria, who had “reduced FGV’s operational costs”.

Anak chairman Mazlan Aliman also claimed Zakaria had been suspended because he had refused to blindly follow Isa’s orders.

Shahrir said that to help restore Felda settlers’ confidence in FGV, the Felda board will send three of its representatives to sit on the FGV directors’ board.

Zakaria, along with FGV chief financial officer Ahmad Tifli Mohd Talha, Delima Oil Products (DOP) Sdn Bhd senior general manager Kamarzaman Abd Karim and FGV Trading CEO Ahmad Salman Omar, were yesterday ordered to go on indefinite enforced leave pending an internal audit on business dealings between Afgan company Safitex and FGV subsidiary DOP that had led to late payment.

Zakaria has maintained that he is innocent of wrongdoing and called for Malaysia Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) to intervene and  investigate allegations of power abuse and corruption within the plantation company

A day after his suspension, Zakaria was called up by the MACC to record his statement.

Following his interview with the graft-busters today, Zakaria has issued an ultimatum to FGV, saying it was either him or the chairman as he could not no longer work with Isa under the circumstances. – June 7, 2017.