This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on June 1, 2020 - June 7, 2020
DATUK Seri Shahril Mokhtar, who previously served as group managing director of Prasarana Malaysia Bhd and CEO of Mass Rapid Transport Corp Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp), is tipped to return to helm loss-making Prasarana Malaysia Bhd.
The position of CEO has been vacant since January, following the abrupt departure of former president and group CEO Datuk Mohamed Hazlan Mohamed Hussain, who was suspended from his position, reportedly following mounting public complaints against the light rail transit (LRT) services such as late notifications of breakdowns.
Names that have been bandied around to take over the CEO position include former Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd chief Mohd Rani Hisham Samsudi, as well as Azhar Ahmad and Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah — the former CEOs of Rapid Penang Sdn Bhd and the now-defunct Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) respectively.
If appointed, Shahril will be Prasarana’s third chief executive in three years. Mohamed Hazlan was at the job for 15 months, while his predecessor Masnizam Hisham only served eight months of her three-year contract.
An industry source believes Shahril’s experience makes him among the best suited to fill the position. He served in the same role at Prasarana from October 2010 to December 2014. During that time, he led the group’s business turnaround and business transformation plans.
According to DWL Resources Bhd’s filing with Bursa Malaysia, Shahril has over 14 years’ experience in the transport sector. He had prior stints in organisations including RapidKL, Ministry of Transport, SPAD and MRT Corp.
Shahril was at the helm of MRT Corp from January 2015 until December 2018, during which he was responsible for overseeing and monitoring the development of the multibillion-ringgit Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit Line 1 (MRT1) and MRT2 projects.
In April, DWL Resources announced that Shahril had resigned as managing director of the construction company after a year on the job. At the time, talk was that he might return to helm MRT Corp.
Both KTMB and Prasarana are entities under the purview of the Ministry of Finance (MoF). Prasarana manages the intra-city rail lines, MRT, LRT and the monorail, as well as feeder bus systems. It also operates the Penang ferry operations through its subsidiary Rapid Ferry Sdn Bhd.
Since the new government took over in March, there have been several changes at the helm of state-owned companies and government-linked companies. Earlier this month, Pasir Salak assemblyman Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman was appointed Prasarana’s group chairman, replacing former Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Zaharah Ibrahim, who had resigned.
CTOS’ latest data shows that for the financial year ended December 2018 (FY2018), Prasarana’s net loss doubled to RM5.15 billion, while revenue fell 12% year on year to RM746.09 million. As at end-December 2018, it had total assets of RM4.53 billion and total liabilities of RM35 billion. Prasarana has yet to file its financial accounts for FY2019.
However, in August last year, Mohamed Hazlan told a press conference that the group had so far halved the losses incurred in FY2018. He also said Prasarana was on track to delivering an annual revenue of between RM800 million and RM900 million in FY2019, while narrowing losses to achieve positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation by 2021.
Apart from turning the company around, one of the immediate tasks of the new CEO would be to improve Prasarana’s image. It was reported in October last year that three of its officers were being probed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
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