“Today’s news was unprecedented in the history of Felda and FGV. The truth will prevail.
“To my FGV colleagues and warga Felda, I am sorry I had to leave the office abruptly, didn’t get a chance to address all of you,” he said on his Twitter account today.
Zakaria was appointed CEO on April 1 last year.
FGV has notified Bursa Malaysia of Zakaria’s leave pending investigations into a number of transactions undertaken by its subsidiary, Delima Oil Products Sdn Bhd.
Aside from Zakaria, FGV Group chief financial officer Ahmad Tifli Mohd Talha, Delima Oil Products senior general manager Kamarzaman Karim, and FGV trading CEO Ahmad Salman Omar have also been placed on leave.
When contacted by a local television station during an interview segment earlier, Zakaria said he was willing to be investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over transactions involving Delima Oil Products.
“In fact, when asked earlier, I called on MACC to come over to FGV and investigate the entire FGV, including this case (Delima Oil) to enable us to clear the air,” he said.
He also said he had anticipated the possibility of the board asking him to take a leave of absence, but had not expected it to reach this stage as it was a minor issue.
“I have to face this openly and defend myself,” he added.