Poser over Johor Corp CEO’s future

12 July 2010 , By The Star

The Johor government has yet to decide whether to extend the service of Tan Sri Muhammad Ali Hashim, the president and chief executive officer of its investment arm, Johor Corp (JCorp).

Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, who is also the chairman of JCorp, said Ali’s tenure would end at the end of the year.

He declined to comment when asked whether the state government was looking for suitable candidates to replace him.

“The only thing that I can tell you today is that his term will end this year,” Ghani told journalists after visiting the Legoland Malaysia Model Building Centre at the Nusa Cemerlang industrial park on Thursday.

StarBizWeek learnt that several corporate figures had been identified to replace Ali if the Johor government decided not to extend his term.

Among them are senior management officers from Tabung Haji group and Kulim (M) Bhd, a diversified palm oil group listed on Bursa Malaysia and the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

Ali’s tenacity, business acumen and entrepreneurial leadership has enabled JCorp to grow into one of the country’s leading conglomerates with more than 280 companies.

Several of them are listed on Bursa and one on the LSE and the market capitalisation of JCorp’s portion of public-listed company shares stood at RM10.4bil at the end of 2009.

Among the listed entities are Kulim, Sindora Bhd, KPJ Healthcare Bhd, KFC Holdings (M) Bhd, QSR Brands Bhd and Damansara Realty Bhd.

On another matter, Ghani said Johor planned to have its third theme park in Iskandar Malaysia after Legoland Malaysia and the Indoor Theme Park in Puteri Harbour.

“The third theme park will probably be a water-related theme park and we’ll disclose the details when they are ready,” he said.

The Legoland in Nusajaya, the first in Asia, is expected to open in April 2012 and the Indoor Theme Park several months later.

Be Open About Singapore's Investment In Johor, Says Najib - Bernama

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has called on all parties to keep an open mind and not to be emotional about Singapore's investment in Johor, particularly in Iskandar Malaysia.

Najib, who is the Umno president, said if Singapore or other countries were investing in Iskandar Malaysia, it would be to the benefit of the people of Johor.

"If we want to see development in Iskandar Malaysia and Johor, we should be open to investments from all. There is no difference between investments from Singapore and those from the United States as long as they are beneficial," he said when opening the Pulai Umno division meeting and the Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat Complex on Sunday.

The prime minister said parochialism should be discarded in matters concerning foreign investment, including those from Singapore "because we are now in the 21st century."

Citing an example, he said, if the United States bought palm oil from Malaysia, the move would also benefit Felda and its settlers.