CERTAIN quarters have been trying to use their high-level connections to acquire Pharmaniaga Bhd below market value, revealed Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan who is popularly known as Tok Mat.
During the launch of the Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) Strategic Plan 2023–2025, Mohamad stated that the issue had been discussed in Cabinet meetings.
“There were people who made bids through top leaders to buy our company at a low price (but) I refused. Over my dead body first. Let me handle this. Let us manage this company together, and I am sure we can revive it,” news portal Free Malaysia Today quoted him as saying.
Earlier in February, Pharmaniaga was classified as a Practise Note 17 (PN17) company due to its fourth quarter FY2022 net loss of RM664.39 mil. The company is controlled by Boustead Holdings Bhd, which holds 52% of its shares.
The armed forces pension fund, acting as Boustead’s parent entity, also holds a direct stake of 8.6% in Pharmaniaga.
Alluding to the ongoing controversies involving LTAT, Mohamad emphasised the importance of the pension fund maintaining the entrusted trust.
He also noted that any such controversies would have a negative impact on his position as the Defence Minister, as LTAT falls under the jurisdiction of the Defence Ministry as a statutory body.
“I do not want to meddle too much (in LTAT’s issues) but at the end of the day I’m the one in charge of it,”added Mohamad.
This comes as the Finance Ministry established a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to take over Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS), the company responsible for the controversial littoral combat ship (LCS) project.
BNS, a subsidiary of Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Bhd and part of Boustead Holdings was responsible for the LCS project, which is regarded as the largest defence procurement initiative in Malaysia’s history costing a total of RM9 bil.
The project faced significant scrutiny last year when the Public Accounts Committee revealed that none of the six ships had been completed despite Putrajaya having already disbursed RM6.08 bil.
Main photo credit: ecentral.my
