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In a statement today, the board also “categorically refuted” Cecile’s assertions in her resignation letter dated April 16 that she was bullied and silenced by board members including Stanley.
Supermax director Ting Heng Peng confirmed that Stanley had indeed stated his intention for Cecile, who was then executive director (ED), to step down from the board with effect from Dec 8, 2021.
“However, it is untrue to say that it was in direct response to her rejection of his proposal to acquire a new aircraft,” he said in a statement, on behalf of the board, in response to FMT Business’ questions on Cecile’s allegations in her resignation letter.
Ting added that Stanley had clearly stated it was because he was returning to the board as executive chairman effective Dec 8, 2021.
“It goes without saying that having too many executive directors, especially non-independent family members, with overlapping roles would not be ideal in terms of corporate governance,” he said.
In her resignation letter, Cecile, 35, said her father’s intention to remove her from the board was in direct response to her rejection of his proposal to acquire a new aircraft. The aircraft was to be purchased by a subsidiary to replace an existing aircraft acquired only a year earlier.
“In February 2022, however, she was redesignated from ED to non-independent, non-executive director for the reason that she no longer held any executive role in the group following her unilateral decision to shut down Supermax’s subsidiary handling the group’s contact lens business in the US, Aveo Vision, in which she was CEO.
“Without an executive role, it was clearly untenable for her to remain as an ED and the board had no other option but to take the decision to redesignate her accordingly.
“Thus, to say that she was redesignated without valid basis and justification is untrue,” Ting added.
In her resignation letter, Cecile claimed there had been concerted attempts by the board to “act against corporate governance practices, punish dissent and silence transparency”, leading to her decision to step down.
Ting asserted that the board allows all directors including Cecile to speak freely and their views and comments taken down in the meeting minutes. “This is a clear indication that there have been no efforts or attempts to stifle any director.”
He acknowledged the board would certainly take the appropriate action to address the shortcomings where possible.
“While we welcome constructive criticism and different views, we cannot agree with Cecile’s allegations and assertions which we find to be unfounded,” Ting stressed.
Supermax’s shares fell 2.5 sen or 2.9% to 83 sen today, valuing the company at RM2.24 billion.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, the group announced a buy-back of 13.15 million shares worth RM11.04 million. The shares were picked up at prices ranging from 82 sen to 85.5 sen.
Supermax had also bought back a total of 28 million shares worth RM24.91 million on April 19 and 20.
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