Going by how the Rajawali group to `get away’ from their legal obligations, the chances of FIC Properties Sdn Bhd (FICP) recovering the amount is close to ZERO.
Under this circumstance, it might be more beneficial for the government to look forward and look at ways on how to sustain and maintain the value of its 37% stake in EHP with an exit later that could minimise its losses.
Shift focus toward asset optimization and value preservation.
Since the US$505 million buyback cannot be enforced legally or diplomatically, the 37% stake in EHP must be managed as an active asset rather than an unrecoverable loss.
FELDA should actively push for seats on EHP’s Board of Commissioners (Dewan Komisaris) and Board of Directors (Dewan Direksi) and use its position to block unfavorable related-party transactions and enforce strict cost-control measures to prevent capital from leaking back to the Rajawali Group.
Inject FELDA's agricultural best practices to improve plantation efficiency, boost revenue, and organically lift the company’s valuation on the Jakarta stock exchange.
When operational efficiencies improve, FELDA can package its 37% block to major Indonesian agribusiness peers who might value the land bank expansion and be willing to buy out a minority block at a fairer market price.
In the meantime, were any actions taken against those involved in proposing and getting this deal approved?
The Board at FELDA and those who supported and approved the purchase can’t simply `novate’ their responsibilities by putting all the blame on PM6.
Each of them, individually and collectively owed a fiduciary duty to FELDA and its shareholders.
PMX needs to set a precedent that being nominated to be on the boards of the GLCs and GLICs does carry legal responsibilities and fiduciary duties so that in future, whoever that are accepting the nominations do know the risks and would not give in and take and carry out the instructions from politicians’ carte blanche.
The argument that "we were just following orders from the top" fundamentally contradicts the core principles of corporate law.
Under both the Malaysian Companies Act 2016 and common law, a director’s fiduciary duties—to act in good faith, with reasonable care, skill, and diligence, and in the best interest of the company—are absolute and cannot be delegated or overridden by a political directive.
By treating the EHP transaction as purely a political scandal centered on one individual, the broader board failures are effectively white-washed.
If the Madani government fails to hold these individual board members legally and financially accountable, it perpetuates a dangerous culture of impunity where GLC and GLIC board seats are viewed as lucrative rewards rather than heavy legal obligations.
To break this cycle, the legal framework and enforcement agencies would need to shift from pursuing purely criminal corruption charges to enforcing civil and regulatory liabilities.
A civil suit should be systematically leveled against every FELDA and FIC Properties board member who signed off on the EHP purchase despite seeing the explicit due diligence warnings from KPMG.
Even if they did benefit in their personal capacity, their negligence in exposing FELDA to a 344% premium makes them personally liable for the financial losses.
The board was in possession of explicit, high-level due diligence reports warning them of severe cash flow constraints and asset overvaluation,
Thus, they cannot claim they were not "properly informed."
Bypassing professional due diligence to execute a political order constitutes a textbook failure of the Business Judgment Rule, that should strip them of their legal shield.
The next time a minister or the prime minister calls a GLC or GLIC chairman demanding a highly inflated acquisition, the chairman's immediate response would have to be: "I cannot do that, because I will face personal bankruptcy and jail time for breaching my fiduciary duty."
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