KUALA LUMPUR (June 25): FGV Holdings Bhd chairman Datuk Wira Azhar Abdul Hamid said he proposed to shareholders to waive his director's fee for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2018 (FY18), in order for the rest of the board to be able to receive their respective fees but substantial shareholders rejected his proposal.
Speaking at a press conference following a gruelling five-hour AGM, Azhar, who was appointed as the chairman in September 2017, stressed that the total remuneration for the board remains the same as in FY17.
He added that the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) had previously raised concerns on the remuneration amount, especially on the fee payable to the chairman.
"Having taken it [the EPF's concern] into account, I personally volunteered to waive my fees. The strategy that I was trying to deploy along with the other board members was that we wanted resolution 1, 2 and 3 to be passed.
"Unfortunately, this did not result in any change. And now I regret making the suggestion but what to do. It has been done," he told the press.
Based on FGV's annual report for FY18, the fee payable to Azhar as chairman of the board is RM1.95 million, versus the total remuneration of RM5.74 million for the board, which consists of 10 members. His remuneration package includes salary of RM415,483.90, chairman fee of RM600,000, annual fee from subsidiaries RM315,000 and benefits in kind of RM313,244.35.
At today's AGM, which lasted five hours, FGV's major shareholders Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), Koperasi Permodalan Felda Malaysia Bhd and Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) have voted against several resolutions on FGV directors' remuneration.
Azhar said the votes against the board's remuneration have puzzled the board members who were re-elected at the meeting but their pays are not approved.
At the AGM, the following resolutions were tabled to the shareholders:
FGV shares closed unchanged at RM1.15, giving a market capitalisation of RM4.2 billion.