By Doreenn Leong
AFTER a rather uncertain year for Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) in 2019, the airport operator started the year with another bombshell as its group CEO Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin, 52, decided to call it quits after a year helming the position.
This has caught many by surprise, and judging from the decline in MAHB share price after Raja Azmi’s resignation made headlines, investors are definitely not too happy with the changing of the guard, creating more uncertainties.
The counter declined about 4% to close at RM7.26 on Jan 7, a day after the announcement was made.
Already, during Raja Azmi’s tenure as group CEO, MAHB saw a 9.31% fall in share price from Jan 2 to Dec 31, 2019, wiping out some RM1.48 bil in market capitalisation.
When Raja Azmi was in charge, a series of unfavourable events dragged investors’ sentiments on the counter including uncertainty over the fate of the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) framework for the determination of aviation tariffs.
RAB allows airport operators to recover the investments they put in towards capacity expansion and service level enhancements, which ensures MAHB taking up a role as a developer-operator.
The counter also took a bad hit when Transport Minister Anthony Loke spoke about an alternative model to RAB.
That said, it is not unusual for employees to leave their companies for whatever reasons. But for high-profile companies such as MAHB, the abrupt manner Raja Azmi is leaving has set tongues wagging as to the real reasons behind his departure.
The real reason?
Was Raja Azmi pressured to step down as he did not agree to certain “instructions” or was he frustrated over the lack of progress on the RAB? Could it be as simple as wanting to “pursue other opportunities”?
According to MAHB’s statement on Jan 6, Raja Azmi’s resignation took effect on the same day (Jan 6) as he seeks “to pursue other opportunities”.
He joined MAHB on Feb 1, 2016 as CFO before being promoted to the position of group CEO on Jan 4, 2019. Raja Azmi took over the helm as acting group CEO from Datuk Mohd Badlisham Ghazali when the latter retired as managing director on June 22, 2018.
Raja Azmi took the reins of MAHB at the time when the country saw a change in the government following the country’s general elections. As such, there were uncertainties as to the direction of the new Ministry of Transport.
When Raja Azmi spoke with this writer in his capacity as acting CEO, he had nothing but good things to say about the newly appointed Loke as the transport minister then.
He described Loke as someone who is willing to listen and take all views into consideration.
Raja Azmi relished the opportunity given to him despite having to wear two different hats as acting CEO and CFO at that time.
The soft-spoken CEO said one of his biggest challenges in MAHB is managing the expectations of all stakeholders which is vital in ensuring that the company runs as smoothly as possible.
About six months into the role, Raja Azmi admitted that there was still more work to be done but he was positive on the company’s future. This writer can’t help but wonder if things have changed.
Raja Azmi’s previous work experiences included being the group CFO, and subsequently executive director of UDA Holdings Bhd, managing director/CEO of Zelan Bhd, group finance director of UEM Group Bhd and executive director of Time Engineering Bhd.
He started his career in 1987 with Coopers & Lybrand Malaysia before moving on to Malaysian Tobacco Company Bhd as an internal auditor and marketing accountant.
Raja Azmi holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Bath, UK. He is also a member of the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Malaysian Institute of Accountants.
All eyes will be on who will be the next group CEO. MAHB said it will be undertaking the proper process to identify and appoint a suitable successor.
The right guy?
In the interim, MAHB has appointed Datuk Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh, the current COO, as the acting group CEO with immediate effect.
Naturally, most people will be wondering if Mohd Shukrie, 46, has what it takes to run MAHB as he has only been appointed as MAHB COO on May 1, 2019.
Prior to that, he was the COO of Redbox Logistics, AirAsia Group Bhd’s logistics arm, from February 2018 to February 2019 and then COO of AirAsia from March 2019 to April 2019.
He was also the former group CEO of KL Airport Services Sdn Bhd, the aircraft ground handling, cargo and logistics arm of DRB-Hicom Group. On July 1, 2011, he joined Pos Malaysia Bhd as group COO and was thereafter redesignated as covering group CEO on Feb 1, 2013. In 2013, he joined Konsortium Logistik Bhd as group CEO.
He became the group CEO of Pos Malaysia from November 2015 to December 2017.
With his credentials, will Mohd Shukrie be able to do more for MAHB? Or will MAHB see the return of former MAHB head Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad, who had served for more than a decade as managing director?
Those at MAHB believe the new acting CEO may be just the right guy.
“Mohd Shukrie is a great guy in my interactions with him. Should be all good. He’s a chartered accountant, so will be able to do what’s necessary. He was CEO of Pos Malaysia (which is also a ground handler here). And he spent time with AirAsia too. So, he has got relevant experience,” noted a MAHB executive.
Whether Mohd Shukrie is made the permanent group CEO or someone else comes in, the government needs to decide fast as investors are getting more jittery.
For now, Mohd Shukrie has a number of pertinent issues at hand. Top priority should be given to finalising the RAB framework but it can be challenging, given the much-criticised merger between the Malaysian Aviation Commission and the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia.
There are also several lawsuits that have been filed by MAHB and AirAsia against each other since 2018.
Suffice it to say that Mohd Shukrie, or whoever the new group CEO may be, has got his work cut out for him. Let’s hope he can juggle between doing what is best for the company, shareholders and staff. – Jan 8, 2020
