KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 3): Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) has appointed four new directors to boost the board composition, following the resignation of David Benello as an independent non-executive director.

The new directors are Datuk Asri Hamidin @ Hamidon, Datuk Mohd Naim Daruwish, Hisham Zainal Mokhtar and Saheran Suhendran.

In a news release today, TM also announced the appointment of Farid Bassir as its new chief human capital officer, in place of Suhaimi Sulong who served as acting chief human capital officer since early this year.

TM said Farid previously served as chief human capital officer at Bank Rakyat for almost three years. Before that, he assumed various human resource-related roles at several organisations including Etiqa and Nestle.

TM said Asri has been named as a non-independent non-executive director representing the special shareholder, Minister of Finance (Incorporated), in the board line-up.

Mohd Naim, meanwhile, will be a non-independent non-executive director representing the interests of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) as a major shareholder of the telecommunications group.

Hisham is appointed as an independent non-executive director. He is currently a director in the group managing director's office at the Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd Group since July and a business coach at Asia School of Business since August.

Saheran will also be an independent non-executive director. He is currently a consultant at Messrs. Chua Associates, a law firm specializing in corporate and commercial law.

"On behalf of the board and management, I am very pleased with the appointments and welcome new directors on board.

"This is a distinguished line-up of individuals who will be able to take TM forward into the future," said TM group chairman Tan Sri Dr Sulaiman Mahbob.

"The board and the senior management have, between them, vast experience and the expertise necessary in their respective fields.

"This strengthens the composition of the TM leadership bench as we move forward with our ongoing transformation. I look forward to working with all of them and am excited to see them contribute their knowledge and wisdom," he added.

Sulaiman also extend his wishes to Benello for his counsel and advice during his time as a director in TM.

"He lent his valuable expertise on the telecommunications industry particularly in corporate and ICT strategy. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours," he said.