Activists question Mukhriz’s role in Opcom Holdings

Several NGO activists have reportedly questioned Bersatu vice president Mukrhiz Mahathir’s role in the fibre optics company Opcom Holdings Bhd.

One of them, Majlis Bekas Wakil Rakyat Malaysia president Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman, said Mukhriz should have relinquished his post as the company’s chairperson immediately after becoming deputy minister of trade and industry on April 10, 2008, and not a year afterwards.

According to a Berita Harian report published today, Abdul Aziz (photo) said there must be a conflict of interest because Mukhriz was a shareholder and chairperson at the company at the same time when he was a deputy minister.

“It would be worse if he had not declared his interest in the company. Authorities should investigate whether there are any transactions involving conflicts of interest between the company and Mukhriz during the time when he was a deputy minister,” he was quoted as saying.

According to its website, Opcom Holdings was founded in November 1994 and primarily manufactures fibre optic cables and related products. Its current chairperson, executive director, and CEO is Mokhzani Mahathir, who is Mukhriz’s brother.

The website states that Mokhzani (photo) was appointed as the company’s director on May 8, 2009, while the Berita Harian report states that Mukhriz had founded the company and had served as its chairperson until he stepped down on Aug 5, 2009.

Mukhriz remained in his deputy minister post until May 2013, when he became the Kedah menteri besar following the 13th general election.

The Malay-language daily also reported that Opcom had made a filing to Bursa Malaysia that Mukhriz had sold 43,600 shares in the company on Jan 2, and another 605,000 shares on the following day.

However, it said Mukhriz is still the majority shareholder in the company with 40.61 million shares, or 25.18 percent of total shares.

Also joining the call to investigate Mukhriz is Angkatan Generasi Melayu Muda president Mohamad Zaidan Abd Rahman, who also said Mukhriz should have relinquished his interests in the company after taking on the government position.

“This should not have happened because Mukhriz should relinquish his stake in any company to uphold the principle of integrity as a government leader.

“Apart from authorities investigating any suspicious elements, Mukhriz should step forward and explain the issue to keep it from becoming polemical and confusing the people,” he was quoted as saying. -Mkini