This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on July 17, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Fibre optics cable company Opcom Holdings Bhd has appointed former chairman of Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Datuk Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi as its chairman, effective yesterday.

Sharil replaces Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir, who resigned as executive chairman on June 1, citing “personal reasons”.

Mokhzani, the second son of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, was appointed to Opcom’s board 10 years ago. His brother, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir and current Kedah menteri besar, had a direct 21.685% stake in the company as at May 31. Mukhriz’s wife, Tok Puan Norzieta Zakaria, has an indirect 11.163% stake held via M Ocean Capital Sdn Bhd.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Opcom said Sharil will become an independent and non-executive chairman.

Sharil, formerly chairman and chief executive officer of MCMC from October 2011 to December 2014, is currently a senior adviser for boutique investment advisory firm Quantephi Sdn Bhd. He also sits on the advisory board of the United Nations University Institute on Computing and Society.

The 50-year-old trained lawyer has also worked closely with international organisations such as the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, Asia-Pacific Telecommunity, Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation, and Unicef among others, the filing showed.

Opcom has lost about 20% of its value over the past three months.