KUALA LUMPUR (March 17): NexG Bhd’s (KL:NEXG) freshly reinstated executive chairman and chief executive officer Datuk Abu Hanifah Noordin has withdrawn his suit against former company directors, following their mass resignation last week.
According to a document search by The Edge, Messrs Krish Maniam & Co, counsels for the plaintiffs Hanifah and NexG shareholder Siti Nur Aishah Ishak, had filed the notice of discontinuance on Monday, March 16, with no order as to cost.
The two first filed the suit on March 9, challenging Hanifah’s suspension via a special board meeting on March 5. They also sought to preserve the company’s status quo pending the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to remove six directors.
These were Syed Farid Syed Ahmad Al-Attas, Kunal Tayal, Aswath Ramakrishnan, Mohd Zafil Ibrahim, Mohamed Fairuz Mohamed Fauzy, and Badrul Hisham Abdul Aziz, who were all named as defendants in the suit.
They are among the seven directors that Hanifah, Velocity Capital Sdn Bhd, and Siti Nur Aishah — who collectively hold at least 10% of the company — had sought to remove via the EGM to appoint eight new directors.
However, last week, the company announced that the six had resigned en masse, effective immediately.
Another executive director, Datuk Chong Loong Men, who is also named as a defendant in the suit, had already stepped down earlier on March 8.
The company had also announced that Hanifah’s executive powers and functions were reinstated immediately, following further deliberation by the board and after taking into consideration the recent progress of the review process. Nominated directors have also been appointed since then.
The previous company’s board said it had suspended Hanifah amid a review of its investments in other public-listed companies, "to allow the committee and its advisers to continue their work without undue influence".
Hanifah claimed that he was suspended following his opposition to the board’s proposal to subcontract the company’s government contracts to third parties.
According to previous news reports, NexG has been locked in a brief boardroom battle following the emergence of Raya Aviation Holdings, linked to Datuk Ishak Ismail, as its largest shareholder.
NexG currently holds RM2.46 billion worth of contracts for the supply of Malaysian passports and identification cards.
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