This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 9, 2026 - March 15, 2026

DATUK Ishak Ismail, a well-known corporate player in the 1990s, is back on the scene, and his presence at NexG Bhd (KL:NEXG) seems to have ruffled the feathers of its board of directors.

Raya Aviation Holdings Sdn Bhd — an air cargo company controlled by Ishak’s sons — became the largest shareholder of NexG on March 4, with a 20.4% stake via ownership in Skyelimit Alliance Sdn Bhd and Trendtrove Tradin Sdn Bhd, according to the bourse filing.

A day after Raya Aviation surfaced in NexG, the company’s executive chairman Datuk Hanifah Noordin, Velocity Capital Sdn Bhd — the financing arm of Velocity Capital Partner Bhd (KL:VELOCITY) — and Siti Nur Aishah Ishak (Ishak’s daughter) wanted to call for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on April 3 to remove seven directors and appoint eight new ones.

The existing board of directors reacted by first suspending the executive power of its chairman, Hanifah, and announcing that the company is investigating the investments made in other public-listed companies (PLCs).

Hanifah is also the co-founder of NexG, which was known as Datasonic Group Bhd. An executive who is familiar with the matter says Hanifah is trying to regain control of the board after losing it following the entrance of a group of directors believed to represent Datuk Seri Farhash Wafa Salvador.

However, a check shows no official filing that reveals Farhash owns shares in NexG.

A source familiar with the matter says Hanifah, Ishak and Victor Chin Boon Long, former chief operating officer of NexG, are in the same faction, acting against the current board, which is believed to represent Farhash as well as other shareholders. The directors were appointed between October and November 2025.

The seven directors that the trio seeks to remove are Datuk Chong Loong Men, Aswath Ramakrishnan, Kunal Tayal, Syed Farid Syed Ahmad Al-Attas, Mohamed Fairuz Mohamed Fauzy, Badrul Hisham Abdul Aziz and Mohd Zafil Ibrahim. Datuk Ab Hamid Mohamad Hanipah and Erna Ismail are not on the remove list.

Meanwhile, the trio wants to appoint Ishak, as well as Raya Airways group managing director Mohamad Najib Ishak, Mohd Azmi Mat Nayan, Lt Col (R) Roseli Abdul Gani, Datuk Anas Alam Faizli, Datuk Amirudin Abdul Wahab, Lt Col (R) Khairudin Dahlan and Datuk Seri Muthanna Abdullah to NexG’s board.

In a bourse filing last Thursday, the existing board told the public it has “great concerns” over the notices’ validity and is seeking independent legal advice on the matter.

“In the meantime, the company will not publish the notices (of EGM) in whatever manner/form until the validity is ascertained,” the board said.

The emergence of Raya Aviation as the largest shareholder of NexG on March 4 seems to have led to the current predicament.

According to the filing to Bursa Malaysia, Raya Aviation holds equity stakes in Skyelimit Alliance and Trendtrove Tradin, which jointly control a 20.4% stake in NexG.

It is known that Raya Aviation is Ishak’s investment. His sons — Mohamad Yusof Ishak and Mohamad Najib Ishak — are directors of the company. It was formerly known as Amrul Nizar Anuar Resources Sdn Bhd, before a name change on Dec 22, 2020.

Together, Raya Aviation and Hanifah control close to 30% shareholding in NexG, with the latter holding 9.58%, based on bourse filings.

However, a check on the Companies Commission of Malaysia’s filings updated on March 6 shows that Tan Sri Mohd Khairul Adib Abdul Rahman still owns a 100% stake in Skyelimit Alliance, while Anwar Abdul Hamid, son of NexG’s executive director Ab Hamid Hanipah, owns Trendtrove Tradin in its entirety. 

On the other side of the divide, Aswath, who was Farhash’s lawyer in his suit against former minister of economy Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli in October 2025, sits on the current board.

While Farhash was never a shareholder of NexG, he has invested in the same company as NexG. He emerged as MMAG Holdings Bhd’s (KL:MMAG) largest shareholder on March 28, 2025, a day after NexG bought a substantial stake in it.

Aswath was appointed an independent, non-executive director of NexG on Nov 18, 2025 — the same day Chong was appointed as executive director, and Kunal, a chartered accountant who is the group chief financial officer of Bestinet Sdn Bhd, was appointed as non-independent, non-executive director.

They came on board after NexG secured several public contracts, including a six-year contract worth RM1.73 billion from the Ministry of Home Affairs to supply Malaysian passports from June 1, 2026 until May 31, 2032, and a RM732.72 million contract to supply national identity cards. These new contracts will ensure steady income for NexG for the next five years at least.

Having secured the public contracts, NexG saw an exodus of its board members last October.

The company announced the resignation of two independent directors — Datuk Seri Mohd Sopiyan Mohd Rashdi and Datuk Zainal Abidin Abu Hassan — both citing a desire to pursue other interests. Mohd Sopiyan stepped down one month after he was appointed to the board. Zainal Abidin was on the board for about 11 months.

A day before their departures, former executive deputy chairman Mohd Khairul Adib and former executive director Datuk Puvanesan Subenthiran resigned.

Mohd Khairul Adib was appointed as NexG’s independent non-executive director in November 2024 and was later redesignated as executive deputy chairman on March 28, 2025, according to the company’s latest annual report.

The former public service department director-general, Mohd Khairul Adib had emerged as a substantial shareholder of NexG with a 6.11% indirect stake. He had bought a stake in Kuantum Juang Sdn Bhd, which owns shares in NexG, from Datuk Safian Mohd Yunus. The value of the Kuantum Juang stake is unknown.

Soon after, Mohd Khairul Adib converted his NexG warrants and mopped up more shares, increasing his equity interest to 12.305%. As at Nov 20, his total shareholding in NexG stood at 561.7 million shares, or 16.1%, through his stakes in Kuantum Juang and Skyelimit Alliance. However, 421.7 million units or 12% of NexG’s shares held by Skyelimit Alliance are held in pledged securities accounts in the name of Kenanga Nominees (Tempatan) Sdn Bhd and Velocity Capital.

Mohd Khairul Adib is currently a board member of Westports Holdings Bhd (KL:WPRTS).

NexG’s board announced last Thursday that it had in November last year resolved to establish a committee to review the appropriateness of certain investments in publicly listed companies.

The establishment of the committee happened after the appointment of Aswath, Chong and Kunal. Nonetheless, it is not known why the board deferred the announcement until a boardroom tussle erupted.

Last month, NexG announced a net loss of RM130.88 million in the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2025. Its maiden quarterly loss was attributed to a fair value adjustment of about RM145.6 million.

According to filings with Bursa Malaysia, NexG invested RM88 million to buy 220 million shares, or a 9.53% stake in MMAG, at 40 sen each in March 2025. MMAG’s share price has since dropped 93% to close at three sen last Thursday (March 5).

Meanwhile, in August 2025, NexG acquired a 32.61% stake and 414.31 million warrants in Classita Holdings Bhd, now NexG Bina Bhd (KL:NEXGBINA), for RM93.25 million. With the shares now at three sen and warrants at onesen, the investment is now worth RM20.1 million, representing an 80% loss (see sidebar).

These investments were made under the watch of Hanifah, who was executive chairman, and prior to the appointment of the existing board.

The board noted in the bourse filing last Thursday that the decision on the suspension of Hanifah’s executive power was made by the majority of the board to ensure that “an ongoing review relating to the company’s investments in quoted shares can proceed in a transparent, independent and orderly manner, in line with NexG’s commitment to strong corporate governance, accountability and transparency.

“The board emphasised that the suspension is an administrative measure intended to safeguard the integrity of the review and does not constitute any determination of wrongdoing. The review process remains ongoing,” the board said.

The board also points out that it is not issuing a notice of EGM as called by Hanifah, Siti Nur Aishah and Velocity Capital until it is satisfied that the call is valid.

With talk of a “corporate mafia” heating up recently, the events that have unfolded at NexG in the past week has naturally raised eyebrows. Minorities will wonder which faction is acting to safeguard their interest.

NexG is a cash cow, with RM2.6 billion worth of government contracts in hand that will generate steady earnings from the supply of passport booklets and identity cards, among others. Who wouldn’t find it attractive?

Still, corporate governance is the bedrock of sound investment, distinguishing it from mere speculation for short-term gains. 

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