In the letter sighted by The Edge, which a spokesperson for Cecile confirmed is authentic, Cecile accused her father of wanting to remove her from the board because 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.
Supermax refutes Stanley Thai's daughter Cecile's 'bullying, silencing' claims
KUALA LUMPUR (April 20): 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.
Cecile, 35, is the oldest of three children — two daughters and one son — born to Stanley and his wife, Datin Seri Cheryl Tan Bee Geok. The couple, who founded Supermax in 1987, control 38.376% equity stake in the group. Cecile holds 211,258 shares.
When contacted by The Edge, the group said its board has responded to and refuted every point that Cecile raised in her letter of resignation.
"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.
Cecile, who 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, which a spokesperson for Cecile confirmed is authentic, Cecile accused her father of wanting to remove her from the board because 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.
She also claimed she was re-designated from executive director to non-executive director 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.
Second daughter to call Stanley out over aircraft purchase
Cecile isn't the first daughter to oppose Stanley's proposal to purchase the aircraft, to be undertaken via the group's subsidiary, Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd.
It is learnt that Stanley's youngest child and daughter Aurelia Joie Thai, 30, has also gone up against her father over the purchase of this aircraft, a Falcon X private jet, which Aurelia claimed was unnecessary and had resulted in him trying to remove her as director at one of the group's subsidiaries.
According to court documents The Edge sighted, Aurelia filed an injunction in March this year to stop her father and three others from holding a nominee remuneration committee meeting to consider whether to allow Aurelia to continue as director of the subsidiary, pending the disposal of her application.
The meeting, which was initially scheduled for March 15, is understood to have been postponed. Aurelia's application has been fixed to be heard on May 31.
In an affidavit in support of her application, Aurelia alleged that the committee had been pressured by her father to make her appear before them to study her suitability to remain as the subsidiary's director. She also claimed her father was no longer professional in his business relationship with his family members, especially in the conduct of Supermax's business, since May 2021.
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.
Supermax's share price closed seven sen or 7.22% lower at 90 sen on Wednesday (April 19), giving the group a market capitalisation of RM2.45 billion. The glove maker's net cash pile stood at RM2.473 billion as at end 2022.
Below is Supermax's point-by-point rebuttal of Cecile's allegations:
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