FGV chairman gets company car, keeps RM480,000 income

 

FGV Holdings Bhd says an independent consultant had been appointed to review non-executive chairman Dzulkifli Abd Wahab’s remuneration (FGV pic)

PETALING JAYA: FGV Holdings Bhd (FGV) says its non-executive chairman Dzulkifli Abd Wahab will be provided with a company car instead of an annual RM180,000 car allowance.

It said this followed the appointment of an independent consultant to review Dzulkifli’s remuneration.

FGV said Dzulkifli will get to retain his RM480,000 annual income as chairman, which will include his director’s fee of RM300,000, while the RM180,000 car allowance is converted to “board fees”.

“FGV’s board was advised to replace the car allowance with the provision of a company car as it is not reflective of the market and sectoral norms, as companies generally do not monetise the provision of a company car in the form of allowances,” it said, according to Bernama.

“Pursuant to the advice, the FGV board proposed to provide a company car to the non-executive chairman and maintain the amount of cash accorded to him previously by converting the car allowance of RM180,000 to board fees.

“Hence, there is no increase in the total cash received by the non-executive chairman.”

FGV said Dzulkifli intended to use an existing car owned by a subsidiary firm, instead of purchasing a new one.

There had been outrage among certain quarters over the sharp increase in fees for FGV’s board of directors and chairman, after shareholders gave the nod to raising Dzulkifli’s allowance to RM480,000 from RM300,000 previously.

However, Dzulkifli opted to waive his fees as chairman of the sustainability board, which come up to RM40,000, and the attendance allowance of RM2,000.

The board members also received the nod for a 25% increase in their fees from RM120,000 to RM150,000.

FGV reiterated that its shareholders had approved the resolutions to increase the director fees for its chairman and directors at the annual general meeting (AGM).

It also pointed out that the chairman’s allowances had been halved in 2019 from RM600,000 to RM300,000, while Dzulkilfi did not make use of benefits he was entitled to in 2021, allowances for entertainment, a club membership and a personal bodyguard. - FMT