KUALA LUMPUR (April 19): Supermax Corp Bhd has dismissed its former director Cecile Jaclyn Thai's allegations that she was subject to "bullying and silencing" from other board members when she tried to uphold her fiduciary duties to the group in the last two years, including from her own father, Supermax's executive chairman and major shareholder, Datuk Seri Stanley Thai.
The group has responded to and refuted every point that Cecile raised in her letter of resignation, it said.
"The board has stated that while it welcomes constructive criticism and different views by any members of the board, and that it will certainly take appropriate action to address shortcomings where possible, it cannot agree with Cecile's allegations and assertions, which the board finds to be unfounded.
“The fact remains that the board always allows all directors, including Cecile, to speak freely; and their views and comments be taken down in the meeting minutes accordingly is a clear indication that there have been no efforts or attempts to stifle any director,” a spokesperson of the group said when contacted by The Edge.
Cecile, whom the group announced on Tuesday had stepped down as its non-executive director, claimed in her letter of resignation that there had been concerted attempts by Supermax's board to "act against corporate governance practices, punish dissent and silence transparency", which led to her decision to leave the group.
In the letter sighted by The Edge, she highlighted how her father wanted to remove her when she opposed his proposal to purchase a new aircraft for US$47.39 million (RM210.32 million) to replace one that was acquired only a year before that, and how she was re-designated from executive director to a non-executive post after she pointed out that giving sole authority to Stanley as the single authorised person for the company's bank accounts was against financial accountability and corporate governance practices.
Stanley co-founded Supermax with his wife Datin Seri Cheryl Tan Bee Geok. They both have an indirect 38.376% stake in the group.
Cecile, who was first appointed Supermax's ED on Jan 2, 2018 and later re-designated as the non-executive director on Feb 28, 2022, holds 211,258 Supermax shares.
Shares in Supermax closed seven sen or 7.22% lower at 90 sen on Wednesday (April 19), giving the group a market capitalisation of RM2.45 billion.