COMMENT | MMC Port Holdings is the largest Malaysian port operator on the Strait of Malacca - through which approximately 25 percent to 40 percent of global trade and over 20 million barrels of oil daily travel, making it as geopolitically significant as the Strait of Hormuz.

As of an internal memo dated July 12, the new executive chairperson of MMC Port Holdings is Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem (Sultan is his given name, not a title. I will refer to him as “Ahmed” for convenience), of the United Arab Emirates.

There was no announcement of this appointment. The news emerged only because Reuters obtained the memo and reported on it on July 15.

The memo stated that former group chief executive officer Azman Shah Yusof had "ceased to serve" with immediate effect. No reason was given. All matters previously routed to the Group CEO would now go directly to Ahmed's office. MMC did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

For nearly two decades, Ahmed was...