MoF Inc appoints new exco for Suria Strategic Energy Resources

PETALING JAYA: Minister of Finance Inc (MoF Inc) has appointed a new executive committee (exco) which includes newly appointed 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) chairman Datuk Asri Hamidon, for its subsidiary Suria Strategic Energy Resources Sdn Bhd (SSER).
Asri who is also the deputy secretary-general overseeing government investment at the Treasury, will chair the exco which will oversee two RM9.4 billion pipeline projects under SSER, after checks found that 88% of the contract sum was paid out even before land rights for the pipeline projects were secured.
The newly formed Exco comprises of former CEO of Agrobank Datuk Wan Mohd Fadzmi Wan Othman, Senior Partner of Grant Thornton Malaysia Hooi Kok Mun and Faisal Abdul Ghani of the Finance Ministry.
Effective June 25, 2018, daily operations of SSER are managed by Grant Thornton Malaysia, led by the firm’s partner Kishan Jasani.
SSER was set up to undertake the Multi-Product Pipeline and the Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline projects.
The MoF Inc which is the sole shareholder of the company, took control of SSER’s offices on June 5, after which SSER’s offices were raided by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and staff were put on garden leave.
Its president Datuk Mohammed Azhar Osman Khairuddin was removed, as the government intensified probes into the scandal involving two pipeline projects.
In a separate statement, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) clarified that the appointment of Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi as the chairman of the executive committee (Exco) is part of the scope and services provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services Sdn Bhd (PwC) to 1MDB.
“PwC is assisting the board and the Exco in recovering 1MDB’s assets and in managing the company’s debt,” said 1MDB in a statement.