Two new NexG directors quit, including chairman Ishak Ismail's son

Saturday 24 Oct 2026

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KUALA LUMPUR (April 1): Two newly appointed NexG Bhd (KL:NEXG) directors, including Mohamed Najib Ishak — son of executive chairman Datuk Ishak Ismail — have resigned less than a month after joining the board.

The other director who is stepping down is Datuk Seri Muthanna Abdullah. Both were appointed as independent and non-executive directors on March 13, following a brief but intense boardroom tussle.

In a Bursa Malaysia filing on Wednesday, NexG said the 45-year-old Mohamed Najib and 66-year-old Muthanna had resigned with immediate effect to pursue other interests.

Their departure leaves NexG with 10 directors. The board is led by Ishak as the executive chairman and Datuk Abu Hanifah Noordin as the deputy executive chairman cum group chief executive officer.

NexG, the sole supplier of Malaysia’s passports and MyKad-related products, has been in the spotlight in recent weeks amid a high-stakes boardroom battle.

The episode appears to be triggered by the emergence of Raya Aviation Holdings — linked to Ishak via his sons Mohamed Najib and Mohamad Yusof — as the company’s largest shareholder on March 4 with a 20.4% stake. This came about after Raya Aviation acquired Skyelimit Alliance Sdn Bhd and Trendtrove Tradin Sdn Bhd.

A day later, on March 5, NexG announced the temporary suspension of Hanifah’s executive powers, pending a review of certain investments. In an interview during his suspension, Hanifah claimed he was targeted because he had objected to farming out the company's government contracts. He also alleged abuse of power in the company, saying several directors and key management personnel were pressured to resign or risk facing investigations by authorities.

Hanfah's suspension was lifted on March 11. On the same day, five of seven directors he had wanted to remove via an extraordinary general meeting resigned en masse, effectively ending the standoff. Two others had resigned a day or two before that.

Subsequently, eight individuals Hanifah previously proposed — including Ishak Ismail, Najib Ishak and Muthanna — were appointed on March 13 to fill the gap. Ishak was then redesignated as the executive chairman on March 27, while Hanifah assumed the role of deputy executive chairman.

NexG shares rose half a sen, or 1.9%, to 27 sen on Wednesday, valuing the group at about RM1 billion.

Edited ByTan Choe Choe

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