KUALA LUMPUR (April 18): The Perodua Labour Union has objected to a proposed acquisition of MBM Resources Bhd (MBMR) by UMW Holdings Bhd (UMWH), as it fears the move would negatively affect the rights and interests of its members. 

Taking over MBMR which owns 22.58% of Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua), would give UMWH control over the national carmaker since the conglomerate already owns 38% of it. 

The union expressed concerns that the takeover will be detrimental to the rights and interests of union members, which have been safeguarded by the existing Perodua management for the past 25 years. 

Moreover, it is also worried that Perodua's Japanese partner Daihatsu Motor Corp may review its involvement as a technological partner of Perodua and discontinue the partnership. 

"If this happens, it will be a huge loss to Perodua, considering the valuable support and contribution that Daihatsu has given to Perodua all this while," the union said in a statement today.  

As Perodua’s 7,841 employees could be affected by any changes in the management structure, they could feel less secure in terms of job security which could affect work performance, the union indicated. 

The union also alluded to last year’s partial sale of national carmaker Proton by DRB-Hicom Bhd, to China’s Zhejiang Geely Holdings Group. 

"We really hope that the previous incident that happened to the other car manufacturer, will not happen to us," the union added. 

"We were surprised by MARA's move to easily agree to release their shares in MBMR to UMWH, which goes against MARA's aspirations to assist the Bumiputeras.” 

To recap, UMWH made an offer on March 9 to acquire Med-Bumikar Mara Sdn Bhd and its wholly-owned subsidiary Central Shore Sdn Bhd’s (CSSB) stakes in MBMR for RM501 million or RM2.56 per share. 

UMWH also made a separate RM417.5 million offer to PNB Equity Resource Sdn Bhd for its 10% stake in Perodua. 

However on March 26, UMWH announced that Med-Bumikar Mara and CSSB had rejected the conditional offer made by UMWH for their collective 50.07% equity interest in MBMR. 

It was also reported that while MARA — the largest shareholder in Med-Bumikar Mara with a 33% stake — and another shareholder, are agreeable to the sale of Med-Bumikar Mara’s stake in MBMR, the remaining five are not. 

MARA has reportedly called for an extraordinary general meeting of Med-Bumikar Mara to be held at the end of this month, to consider UMWH’s offer to buy its 50.07% stake in MBMR. Apart from its stake in Perodua, MBMR also has other auto businesses.