IT doesn’t take a genius to work out that the strong stench emanating from Felda Global Ventures Berhad comes from its boardroom and not its oil palm factories.

The stink has now pushed the world’s second biggest initial public offering (IPO) in 2012 to fast becoming the second biggest scandal after debt-laden 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

There are allegations of corruption by both parties: FGV board chairman Isa Samad and chief executive officer Zakaria Arshad, who is on forced leave by the board. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission MACC) has started its investigations into the matter.

The allegations cap a long two years that has seen the world’s biggest plantation company see its shares slide from a high of RM5.55 per share to the paltry RM1.66 a share now.

The question now is, how does putting Idris Jala at FGV help the boardroom tussle? How can he drive FGV out of its management troubles, pun intended.

The announcement from the Prime Minister’s Office does not say the public-listed company board had approved Idris’ independent role to check the facts and recommend solutions to the suspension of the chief executive and two other senior officials. 

Why is Putrajaya looking into what a public-listed board is doing with its staff? Isn’t this a matter between the employee and the employer.

How will this help FGV get out of its present brouhaha? Will his fact-checking and recommendations pass muster with the board that had issues with Zakaria?

And will it interfere with the MACC probe into FGV’s business dealings? Or just table talks and singing Kumbaya? 

The simple thing is for both Isa and Zakaria to be sidelined and the MACC move in and investigate all allegations and examine the books to see who is telling the truth.

And to prosecute those who made FGV a poor performer in the stock market. Its profits appear fine but the returns are poor, and the stock price reflects that.

Also, shouldn’t the board also take any responsibility if the deals are less than kosher, going by the stacks of files that Zakaria brought along to the MACC headquarters yesterday?

It is almost an axiom in corporate Malaysia that executives of state-linked or owned companies or politically linked personalities rarely face prosecution despite investigations and interrogations.

At most, they are removed and sent to another less sensitive company, agency, commission or made an ambassador.

But the FGV imbroglio is different. Both sides are talking about shady deals and investments which were not part of its core business and lost money.

More so it’s a company that was proudly touted as the second biggest IPO after Facebook in 2012. More so because it involved Felda settlers who traded their land for shares now worth about one-third of its issue price.

Malaysia and FGV need to get to the bottom of alleged financial and business mismanagement that has been festering since the last chief executive was in charge. Not have an independent party assess the facts and figure out a solution.

It isn’t about performance management and delivery for FGV milestones any more. It’s about cleaning up the stink at the FGV boardroom. – June 8, 2017.