President and chief executive officer (CEO) of Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) Zakaria Arshad (above) today refuted claims that he has been fired as a member of the board of directors of the agro-based company.

On the other hand, he said, he had relinquished the position with the agreement of the other board directors in order to preserve the integrity and transparency of the company.

“We (the board members) had discussed separating the power of the board of directors and the management as we did not want to create a conflict of interest.

“This is because when I was the CEO, it was difficult for the other members of the board of directors to make any decisions concerning the company because I, as CEO, was on the board,” he told reporters after attending the launch of the ‘FGV-MPOB (Malaysian Palm Oil Board) Initiative in Spearheading Usage of B10’.

Zakaria said at the company’s annual general meeting held in June this year, he announced his agreement to relinquish his position as member of the board of directors.

“The speculations that I was fired are not true. The decision to relinquish and end my services as member of the board of directors was made so that the company can be more open and if there are sensitive issues, the board members can discuss it more freely,” he said.

Yesterday, the FGV said in a statement that Zakaria’s services as a member of the company’s board of directors had been terminated effective yesterday.

The decision was made after FGV received a letter from its special shareholder to withdraw Zakaria’s appointment as a board member in implementing the new FGV constitution.

Commenting on the restructuring of the company’s management, Zakaria said so far, there were no changes.

“What is happening only affects retired employees whose posts are taken over by other staff, this process does not involve a restructuring of the company,” he said. - Bernama