“I will work with the board to improve and enhance the corporate governance of the board and the company. I will also be looking at ways to improve financial performance,” he told FMT when asked about his new appointment.
He also thanked Prime Minister Najib Razak for the trust and confidence shown in him.
Asked if a new team of directors would be appointed to replace those who were told to go on indefinite leave, he said: “Got to discuss the matter internally first.”
Sulaiman replaces Isa Samad, who had been chairman since Jan 1, 2011.
Isa’s position in the company was recently questioned, following the controversy in which four of the firm’s executives, including its president and CEO Zakaria Arshad, were told to go on indefinite leave pending an internal investigation into an issue involving delayed payment from a Dubai-based Afghan company, Safitex Trading, to FGV subsidiary, Delima Oil Products.
On June 7, the prime minister appointed former minister Idris Jala to oversee the internal investigation.
The next day, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) seized documents at FGV’s headquarters, one day after Zakaria’s meeting at the MACC office.
Besides Zakaria and chief financial officer Ahmad Tifli Mohd Talha, Delima Oil Products’ senior general manager Kamarzaman Abd Karim, and FGV trading CEO Ahmad Salman Omar were also asked to take a leave of absence.
Sulaiman has a degree in Economics from Universiti Malaya (UM), a masters in science from the University of London and a PhD from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, New York.
He served in government for over 38 years in various capacities, including as the director-general of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), Prime Minister’s Department, secretary-general of the then-domestic trade and consumer affairs ministry, and under-secretary (Economics) of the finance ministry.
He was previously chairman of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) and the Companies Commission of Malaysia. He was also a board member of Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), Malaysia Insurance Deposit Corporation (PIDM) and the then-Multimedia and Communications Commission.