Nesa Cooperative, which is embroiled in a legal tussle with Maika Holdings, clarified today that the injunction over Maika's sale of its cash cow insurance firm Overseas Capital Assurance Bhd (OCAB) was not politically motivated.

maika holdings berhad "We are not against the sale of OCAB, nobody is saying that it should not be sold but we want the process to be transparent," the cooperative's chairperson L Meyyappan told a press conference.

Maika, which is the debt-ridden investment arm of MIC, was to sell off OCAB to an engineering firm for RM129.8 million in order to settle its debts and reimburse its shareholders.

Meyyappan explained that the legal action against Maika was "purely based on economic fundamentals and intended to protect the interest of Nesa (which is also a shareholder)."

"The board felt insufficient details were given in the agenda and annual report. The (Nesa) directors were concerned about the lack of valuation of OACB and that there were absolutely no details on the sale of all the other assets.

"There was also no mention on the basis of the distribution of surplus," he said.

Meyappan said Nesa was a minority shareholder in Maika and its total investment was less than 0.5 percent.

'Obstructed from raising issues'

He said the issues concerning the valuation of Maika's asset were addressed in a letter dated Aug 24, 2007 but Nesa was "obstructed from raising the issues or getting the required clarification."

"Nesa had no alternative but to proceed with legal action... as a shareholder we had to seek justice.

"I wish to reiterate that all we wanted was that the sale of OCAB be done on a fair value basis, preferably to an Indian enterprise where possible, and if not, to any others who make the best offer based on valuation," he added.

On the accusation that Nesa's action was politically motivated, Meyappan said this was unfair.

Nesa is linked to former MIC deputy president S Subramaniam, the political nemesis of party president S Samy Vellu, whose son Vell Paari is chief executive officer of Maika.