KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 26): FGV Holdings Bhd has appointed former Ministry of Foreign Affairs secretary general Tan Sri Rastam Mohd Isa as the plantation giant’s chairman effective immediately.

Rastam succeeds Datuk Shahrol Anuwar Sarman who has been redesignated as a non-independent and non-executive director, according to the group’s bourse filings on Tuesday.

Rastam’s career in the foreign ministry spans three decades, where he headed various missions overseas — including Pakistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Indonesia.

At the tail-end of his diplomatic career, he served as the ministry’s secretary general from 2006 to 2010.

“Upon retirement as the secretary general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was appointed as special envoy of the government of Malaysia to Brunei Darussalam. He also served for three years as advisor at the Chief Minister’s department, Sarawak [between 2010 and 2013],” FGV said.

In terms of public-listed companies, Rastam has sat on the board of Batu Kawan Bhd as an independent and non-executive director since 2017.

Meanwhile, Shahrol has spent over two decades at the Ministry of Finance (MOF), where he has served in various positions. He currently leads the MOF’s National Budget Office as its director.

Shares in FGV ended unchanged at RM1.40, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM5.11 billion.