KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 25): A substantial shareholder of Ire-tex Corporation Bhd has questioned the validity of the “late night” appointment of four new directors by the company yesterday.

Elite Cosmo Group Ltd said it is taking legal advice on the appointment of Chin Peng Wai, Saharun Nizam Saharan, Mohd Mahyudin Zainal and Mohd Fahami Mohamed to the board.

Elite Cosmo and another shareholder, Tan Yeang Tze, contended in a press statement today that “the four persons were never validly appointed as directors in the first place.”

Ire-tex, a loss-making protective packaging product maker, has been the subject of a boardroom tussle for several months now.

Previously, Elite Cosmo and Tan had requisitioned Ire-tex to call for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to remove four existing directors and appoint two new directors. The board, however, did not convene the EGM and the requisitionists then proceeded to issue a notice of EGM dated June 23.

“The company brought proceedings against us and various other people claiming that we were persons acting in concert in contravention of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007. The company tried to injunct our voting rights and our right as members to call the said EGM,” said Elite Cosmo and Tan.

Another two Ire-tex shareholders, Teh Eng Huat and Khoo Hon Sniah, brought a similar suit claiming broadly identical relief, and also tried to get an injunction on similar terms against Elite Cosmo and Tan.

The High Court fixed Aug 23 as the hearing date for the applications, and Elite Cosmo and Tan agreed to adjourn the EGM they had called for, to a date after that hearing date.

“We therefore issued a fresh notice of adjourned EGM dated 17th July 2017, calling for the EGM today, 25th August 2017,” they said.
 
However, Ire-tex announced on Aug 7 that it would be calling an EGM on Aug 22 — the eve of the hearing of its own injunction application  — for the purpose of appointing Chin, Saharun Nizam, Mohd Mahyudin and Mohd Fahami as new directors.

On Aug 21, the High Court granted Elite Cosmo, Tan and other applicants an injunction against the holding of the Aug 22 EGM, until the disposal of the Ire-tex’s injunction application.

Yesterday, the court dismissed the two injunction applications against Elite Cosmo, Tan and various other shareholders.

But later in the day, Ire-tax announced the appointment of the same four persons — Chin, Saharun Nizam, Mohd Mahyudin and Mohd Fahami — as directors of Ire-tex. 

Meanwhile, at the EGM called for by Elite Cosmo and Tan held today, Raja Hizad Raja Kamarulzaman and Hamdan Mohd Nor were appointed as directors.

Four others — Mak Lin Kum, Chin Wui Choong, Datuk Seri Mohd Shariff Omar and Ahmad Amryn Abd Malek — were removed as directors.

Shareholders who attended today’s meeting also removed Chin, Saharun Nizam, Mohd Mahyudin and Mohd Fahami as directors, said Elite Cosmo and Tan.