Nanyang Press Holdings Bhd has appointed former Sin Chew Media Corporation Bhd executive director Gan Chin Kew, as the new group managing director/group chief executive officer of Nanyang Group.

The announcement was made yesterday over the Bursa Malaysia website .

The post was held by Liew Peng Chuen, who decided not to renew his contract which was due to expire on May 27. His decision was accepted by the Nanyang Press board and he will go on leave from tomorrow.

Gan takes over the post from June 1, but will serve as designate up to then to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of operations.

Liew, 57, was appointed to the Nanyang Press board on Aug 28, 2001. He was group chief editor of The Star from 1983-1986. He graduated from London Guildhall University with a law degree in 1987 and was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in 1989.

He was a director of Westmont Group of companies between 1992 and 1995, and the Chief Operating Officer of Nanyang Press from 1995-1996. After joining Sin Chew in 1996, he was appointed its group chief executive in 1999.

Close ties

Chinese media activists are likely to be concerned by his appointment, as this will strengthen the already close relationship between Sin Chew and Nanyang. They were keen rivals until political party MCA bought over the Nanyang group in May 2001.

Last November, Nanyang Press listed Sin Chew chairperson Tiong Hiew King's firms, Tiong Toh Siong Holdings Sdn Bhd and Pemandangan Sinar Sdn Bhd, as the 9th and 13th biggest shareholders.

As they hold 2.12 and 0.31 percent of the shares respectively, Tiong effectively controls at least 2.43 percent of Nanyang shares. He has been listed as one of Nanyang's largest shareholders since 2002.

Gan, 58, holds a Bachelor of Science degree from University of New South Wales, Australia, and a Master's in business administration from University of Bath, United Kingdom. He has acquired extensive working experience in various industries, including the palm oil, pharmaceutical and fiber optics sectors.

He has been with Sin Chew since 1984 and held several managerial and senior positions prior to his appointment to the board on Sept 30, 1999. He also sits on the board of the Malaysian national news agency Bernama and several other private companies.

Gan was executive director of Sin Chew before he announced his retirement on Feb 16, after being with the company for 22 years.