SOMETIMES corporate captains should just let sleeping dogs lie. Just bury the hatchet and don’t let emotions ruin your fortune.
It is therefore very baffling for investors and non-investors alike to learn that former Sapura Energy Bhd CEO Tan Sri Shahril Shamsuddin ‘has come out from his retirement’ to sue PKR’s newly-elected deputy president Rafizi Ramli over claims made by the latter against the cash-strapped global integrated oil & gas (O&G) service provider.
Recall that on June 1, the former Pandan MP confirmed in a blog posting that he was served with a writ of summons by lawyers acting for Shahril on May 11 over statements he made in opposition to a call by former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that the Government should bail out Sapura Energy.
Rafizi chose not to comply with a letter of demand for an apology and retraction of three articles containing allegedly libellous statements about Shahril but instead engaged a team of lawyers headed by Ranjit Singh of Ranjit Singh & Yeoh, to handle his case.
Shahril could have probably been offended most by Rafizi for making remarks about his hefty remuneration at a time when Sapura Energy was bleeding. This is due to the existence of share covenant as Shahril has revealed to The Edge Financial Daily in July 2019.
The covenant in lieu of having his shares in Sapura Energy locked up when the group re-financed its whopping RM14 bil in borrowings has enabled Shahril to rake in fat salaries amounting to RM71.92 mil in in the financial year ended Jan 31, 2018 (FYE1/2018) and RM84.24 mil in FYE1/2017.
Back then, Shahril was the single largest shareholder of Sapura Energy with a 15.9% stake. The share covenant was not stated in the annual reports.
An ‘old hand’ in court cases, Rafizi noted on his Facebook posting that this will mark the 14th time since 2010 that he is making court appearance to defend public funds linked to financial scandals, notably that of the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), 1Malaysia Development Bhd, Majlis Amanah Rakyat, Tabung Haji and the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT).
“Thus far, I’ve an impeccable track record where I won all legal suits levelled against me in courts,” he justified. “In the court proceedings, the people can make in depth evaluation of the background of each and every of the financial scandal.”
While Shahril has every right to challenge Rafizi in court, many wonder if the former is only exposing himself to the risk of opening more cans of worms given that Sapura Energy has succumbed to a net loss of RM8.9 bil for its FY1/2022 which is the largest in the history of corporate Malaysia to date.
As pointed out by Mariam Mokhtar, the fierce critic of Malaysia’s socio-political problems, many Malaysians would welcome the trial so that Sapura’s alleged mismanagement will be put to public scrutiny.
“They want to know if the alleged excesses of its former CEO and the failure of the board and managers to save the company from near bankruptcy are true,” she pointed out in her latest opinion editorial in the Free Malaysia Today portal.
“With the trial – if it takes place – the rakyat will be able to know how public listed companies are run. They will be able to find out about the wastage, the exorbitant salaries and perks, the poor decision making, the choice of investments, and the losses incurred.”
Should Rafizi emerge triumphant in the court case, his track record will go up a notch to 15-0. – June 6, 2022
https://focusmalaysia.my/will-it-be-15-0-for-rafizi-as-he-takes-on-sapura-energys-top-gun-shahril/
