IT is certainly the right thing to do for Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd deputy group chairman Datuk Seri Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib (left) to take leave amid investigation into allegations of conflict of interest in the company by the authorities.
It is commendable that he has asked to go on such leave as opposed to the company ‘asking’ him to go on leave, according to Minority Shareholders Watch Group (MSWG) CEO Devanesan Evanson.
“Leaves of absence allow the company to investigate allegations and conclude investigations in a timely manner without the fear of interference – perceived or real – by those involved in the allegations,” he told FocusM.
“There is also a lower risk of tampering with evidence. Meetings and discussions can also be carried out in a candid manner without the presence of the party facing the allegations.”
Yesterday, the Sarawakian conglomerate which is closely linked to the family of Sarawak Governor Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud said Mahmud Abu Bekir has voluntarily taken leave of absence from all his positions in the group in order to facilitate a full and transparent investigation by the authorities.
This follows allegations of conflict of interest made through the group’s whistleblower channel involving him and former chief information officer Karl Vink @ Khalid Abdullah.
The allegations were received through the group’s whistleblower channel. Upon receipt of the whistleblower complaints – and prior to reporting to the authorities – Cahya Mata said its board has acted immediately by conducting a full investigation to discharge its fiduciary duties to protect the best interest of the company and all its stakeholders.
“We request all stakeholders to allow the investigations to proceed and patiently await the final outcome,” Cahya Mata pointed out in a statement yesterday.
“The board will cooperate fully with the authorities and has requested management to also extend their fullest cooperation.”
In a related development, Devanesan highlighted that whistleblower policies are a powerful tool to weed out wrong doings provide they operate properly.
“There should be protection of whistleblowers and they should never be victimised,” he asserted. “It is this fear of non-protection and victimisation that is a hindrance to potential whistleblowers.”
Devanesan also holds the view that anonymous whistleblowing should be encouraged although it may have some disadvantages like the inability to identify the whistleblower for further information.
“The whistleblower assumes all the downside risk when whistleblowing like victimisation and bodily harm,” opined Devanesan.
“Perhaps, it is time to compensate this downside risk with some form of compensation to encourage more to come forward as whistleblowers like in some countries. Surely, the end justifies the means.”
At 9.15am, Cahya Mata was down 5 sen or 2.37% to RM2.06 with 152,700 shares traded, thus valuing the company at RM2.21 bil. – April 23, 2021
