CIMB Islamic CEO to resign from post effective August 15

PETALING JAYA: CIMB Islamic Bank's CEO Badlisyah Abdul Ghani (pix) will be resigning fom his post effective August 15, a week after his Facebook posting on the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article that prompted CIMB Group chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak to order an internal inquiry on him.
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd announced Badlisyah's resignation, who is also CIMB Islamic board member, in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.
CIMB Islamic senior managing director and deputy CEO Mohamad Safri Shahul Hamid has been selected to be the person in charge of the bank.
The board of CIMB Islamic has agreed for the group nomination and remuneration committee to start the process of identifying the next CEO for the bank.
"We respect Badlisyah's decision. Since his appointment in 2006, Badlisyah has strengthened our global Islamic banking franchise and we are now well positioned globally to tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead of us," CIMB Islamic Bank chairman of the board of directors Datuk Dr Syed Muhammad Syed A Kadir said.
"The board and I are grateful to Badlisyah for his leadership, integrity and contribution to the group. We wish him well for the future and the next stage in his career," he added.
Badlisyah, who also heads CIMB Group's Islamic banking and finance franchise, posted comments on his Facebook page last week on the WSJ article on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
He accused WSJ of using false documents in the article, which alleged that US$700 million worth of funds linked to 1MDB were pumped into the prime minister's personal accounts.
However, his comments were disputed by online news portal Malaysiakini and he has since admitted that he made an error in his analysis.
Nazir, who ordered an internal inquiry on Badlisyah, said it was a technical matter that Badlisyah should not be commenting on.