KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 8): MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd said today its group chief executive officer (CEO) has been placed on a leave of absence and that he is required to explain certain irregularities relating to inventories of MSM Sugar Refinery (Johor) Sdn Bhd.

"He has been given seven (7) days from today to respond to the matter and has been placed on leave of absence until further notice from the board,” MSM said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia today.

MSM, which did not include its group CEO’s name in the Bursa filing, had also not specified the nature of the inventory irregularities in MSM Sugar Refinery (Johor).

According to MSM’s website, the company’s group CEO is Datuk Khairil Anuar Aziz, who was appointed on April 23, 2019.

Today, MSM said the company will continue its business as usual. 

"In the interim, the board has appointed Encik (Mr) Fakhrunniam Othman as the officer-in-charge to perform the functions of the MSM group CEO. Fakhrunniam is currently the group investment officer of FGV Holdings Bhd.

"The (MSM) board has also established a board executive committee, comprising three (3) MSM directors, Datuk Syed Hisham Syed Wazir, Datuk Dr Abd Hapiz Abdullah and Datuk Haris Fadzilah Hassan, to guide and assist the officer-in-charge during this interim period.

"Further announcements shall be made in the event of material developments on this matter,” MSM said.

According to FGV’s website, FGV owns a 51% stake in MSM. FGV said MSM produces and sells refined sugar products under its flagship brand, Gula Prai.

"The company (MSM) conducts its business principally through two operating subsidiaries, MSM Prai Bhd, and MSM Sugar Refinery (Johor), producing a variety of sugar products ranging from refined sugar of various grain sizes, brown sugar, liquid sugar, premix to molasses, catering to a wide range of consumers’ needs and demands. In addition, MSM also operates a logistics company — MSM Logistics Sdn Bhd.

"At present, MSM’s annual production capacity reaches 2.25 million metric tonnes of refined sugar for the domestic and export markets. In 2019, MSM produced 1.07 million tonnes of refined sugar, of which about 83,341 tonnes are catered for the export market,” FGV said.

Haris Fadzilah is FGV group CEO.

At Bursa’s 12:30pm break today, MSM’s share price settled down 0.5 sen or 0.92% at 54 sen for a market capitalisation of RM383.12 million.

FGV’s share price, however, added one sen or 0.85% to RM1.19, valuing the group at RM4.31 billion.