Mahaleel aching
Proton CEO Tengku Mahaleel Ariff puts himself in hot soup kambing, and it could have serious repercussion for him.
The company’s board of directors called an emergency meeting last night to discuss an interview he gave a Chinese daily two days earlier, in which he was critical of the Government’s automotive policy. In the interview, Mahaleel lamented the "poor treatment" Proton was receiving from the Government.
Ironically, the Government is the major shareholder in the company, through Khazanah Nasional. As he was in London, the board members placed a conference call to him during the meeting and asked him to explain his comments in the Oriental Daily.
Proton became the country’s dominant auto-maker as part of the Government’s industrialisation drive, which included slapping heavy tariffs on foreign cars.
Mahaleel has had problems with the previous Proton board when it was controlled by Petronas, and also when the national oil giant sold its stake in the car-maker to Khazanah. Earlier this year, Datuk Abu Hassan Kendut quit as Proton Holdings chairman after a board decision not to renew Mahaleel’s contract was overturned.
Mahaleel’s rise up the ladder in Proton has been meteoric since April 1996, when he was appointed as the company’s vice-chairman of strategy and operations. He became the company’s CEO the following year. Proton shares closed 15 sen lower at RM7.20 at the end of yesterday’s trading on Bursa Malaysia.
It seem that Mahaleel have too many enemies within the upper hierarchy as he is seen to be Dr. M's man and Dr. M is no more PM; so there would naturally be some power-play to get him down and out.
In this situation, it would be, when the going gets tough, only the tough gets going. Does Mahaleel have the muscles to overpower his opponents?
The game is only beginning..... Don't cry for me Argentina, says Madonna. So, don't cry for me Proton, Mahathir might be weeping dry.
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