Former Khazanah Nasional Bhd managing director Azman Mokhtar has surfaced to be in pole position for the chairman post at Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), sources tell FocusM.
But the offer is pending Azman accepting the post or not, people familiar with the matter said. Should he take up the job, he will replace current chairman Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
Azman led Khazanah from 2004 to 2018 and was replaced by former Employees Provident Fund CEO Shahril Ridza Ridzuan after Pakatan Harapan (PH), led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad, won the 14th general election on May 9, 2018.
Another Khazanah man, Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn, is most likely to be confirmed as PNB CEO, a source said, but this is still pending the green light from Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. Zulqarnain, currently an executive director at Khazanah, is expected to replace Jalil Rasheed.
Ahmad Zulqarnain, 47, was hired to join Khazanah in May 2014 by Azman when he was the sovereign wealth fund’s chief.
Both Zeti and Jalil were appointed under the PH regime as part of the coalition’s plan to reform government-linked companies. PNB is one of the largest asset managers in the country.
But a change in government ensued after a coup in March with Muhyiddin being sworn in as prime minister and his loose pact, Perikatan Nasional (PN), taking over Putrajaya.
Muhyiddin, by virtue of his prime ministership, is chairman of Yayasan Pelaburan Bumiputera, the holding company of PNB.
Jalil, 38, left PNB on Monday after a weekend of speculation over the 38-year-old’s education and working credentials.
But in his farewell email, Jalil said he had received harassing phone calls while his corporate email and LinkedIn profile had been hacked. That was the “last straw… In the end, I decided that it would be unfair to my family should matters escalate,” he said.
According to PNB, in a June 15 press release announcing Jalil’s departure, the fund’s board had already approved of a successor and the announcement would be made upon receipt of the request regulatory approvals. – June 17, 2020
