This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 13, 2026 - April 19, 2026

IN the 1990s, Datuk Ishak Ismail was a formidable corporate player — any hint of his involvement in a listed company could send its share price soaring, often accompanied by a surge in trading volume.

His name instilled fear in many quarters, given his reputation for being ruthless and difficult. Yet, in an exclusive interview with The Edge, he brushes this off, remarking nonchalantly, “Why? I’m quite harmless.”

At his peak, Ishak controlled prominent companies such as KFC Holdings (M) Bhd, Idris Hydraulic (M) Bhd and Prime Utilities Bhd. However, after Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was removed as deputy prime minister in 1998, Ishak became one of Corporate Malaysia’s casualties, losing control of all three listed entities.

Although he made brief appearances in companies such as Kenmark Industrial Co (M) Bhd, and took over the beleaguered Transmile Group Bhd — renamed Raya Airways Sdn Bhd — Ishak, 75, has stayed largely below the radar, maintaining a low profile.

Now, after many years away from Bursa Malaysia, Ishak is back — as executive chairman of security-based ICT solutions provider NexG Bhd (KL:NEXG), in which he controls 23.57% equity interest.

His return to Corporate Malaysia comes at a time of turmoil in NexG, marked by a feud between Victor Chin Boon Long and Datuk Hanifah Noordin against Bangladesh-born, now Malaysian, Datuk Aminul Islam Abdul Nor — founder and major shareholder of Bestinet Sdn Bhd. Bestinet operates the Foreign Worker Centralised Management System (FWCMS), which comprises 15 modules covering all aspects of foreign worker documentation, particularly for Bangladeshi workers.

Said to be aligned with Aminul is Datuk Farhash Wafa Salvador, who served as Anwar’s political secretary.

While he says he is not involved in the tussle, Ishak’s presence in NexG is itself telling. He has long-standing ties with Anwar and is a seasoned corporate player.

His entry is also timely, given that NexG is slated to roll out Malaysian passports under a RM1.73 billion contract starting from June 1 this year.

While there is talk of the government relooking at the contract, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution has sought to put matters in perspective (see accompanying story).

In a nearly two-hour interview with The Edge, Ishak reflects on his journey from the go-go 1990s to the present, in his usual frank and candid manner. Below are excerpts from the interview. 

The Edge: You were a very big corporate personality in the 1990s, then you went quiet. What happened?

Datuk Ishak Ismail: This is where I have to explain. That’s a very interesting story, you know.

We also remember that stocks used to fly when people said Datuk Ishak Ismail was buying in.

My involvement in corporate life started when I was asked by Anwar [Ibrahim, then deputy prime minister] to take over, to wrest control of Idris Hydraulic [(M) Bhd], which was at that time under the control of [political party] Semangat 46.

They [United Malays National Organisation (Umno)] had been trying their very best to take control of Idris Hydraulic from Semangat 46, because Semangat 46 was using Idris Hydraulic as their financial arm to fund their political activities.

Then, the takeover of Idris Hydraulic happened because of my good relationship with [former Selangor Menteri Besar] Datuk Harun Idris. He was my godfather. One day, he called me and said: ‘Ishak, if you want to take over Idris Hydraulic, you’d better do it today because Marina [Datuk Marina Mohd Yusoff, former vice-president of Semangat 46] is not around. Rahmah [Osman, Wanita chief of Semangat 46, and former deputy minister of information and former deputy minister of transport] and I can authorise the sale.’

At that time, it was the Umno General Assembly. I went to see Daim [former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin], as Anwar said Daim was the one who could assist, who could do the transaction.

Assist financially?

Yes, assist financially. So, I explained to him that if you want to take over Idris Hydraulic, you have to do it today. Datuk Harun can sell it, with Rahmah.

I didn’t have money; it was going to cost a lot of money. Then Daim called Tajudin [Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli of Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS) and Naluri Bhd] — I needed RM23 million [to take over Idris Hydraulic] to cross the shares at 60 sen. So, Daim asked Tajudin to give me RM23 million to buy Idris Hydraulic shares.

That is how I started in Corporate Malaysia. Of course, Tajudin held the shares and I ran the company.

You were the managing director of Idris Hydraulics?

Yes. Of course, when we wrested control of [Idris Hydraulic], they [Umno] were very happy. They asked me to be the MD. That was the beginning. Later on, we added more [businesses], and slowly brought the timber business and property business into Idris Hydraulic.

The stock market was very dull then. When we took over Idris Hydraulic, the price moved from 65 sen to RM2 to RM3 to RM5 to RM8 — everybody started jumping, and the whole stock exchange became very active.

How did it go up so much?

I had a lot of support, and I was with the late Teh Soon Seng [of Aokam Perdana Bhd fame]; he came in to assist in the timber business.

What were you doing before Idris Hydraulic?

I was a normal businessman. Before that, I was with Bank Bumiputera [Malaysia Bhd], [Tan Sri] Khoo Kay Peng [who went on to control Malayan United Industries (MUI)] was my boss. Tengku Razaleigh [Hamzah, former finance minister] was my chairman. I started my career as a banker, but I always admired the corporate life.

Then I left the bank and started doing business, mainly in supply contracts with the government. That is how I started.

So, your first listed company was Idris Hydraulic?

Yes … This is 1993, 1994 or thereabouts, the early 1990s, when I started at Idris Hydraulic.

Subsequently, I took over KFC, my second public company. KFC was interesting; I was also involved in the chicken business, supplying chickens to KFC, before I took over.

You had your own chicken farm?

We did contract farming. At that time, KFC was controlled by Datuk Mokhzani [Abdul Rahim] and his partner; they took over from Mr Loo [Cheng Ghee].

Then Mokhzani and his partner faced some problems, I got a call from Mokhzani asking whether I was keen to take over KFC. I asked him how much it would cost me and he said RM100 million.

I was given a month. I was in Mecca at the time. When I came back from Mecca, I tried to raise the RM100 million. The man I approached was Patrick Low [now Johari Low Abdullah], who was with Arab Malaysian [Bank, now AmBank]. To finance me RM100 million, he needed me to have at least RM50 million. A month passed and the company was sold to Loy [Tan Sri Loy Hean Hong] of MBF group. So, I thought it was over.

One morning, I was sitting in my office — it was about 10 o’clock — when I got a call from Tan Sri Rashid Hussain of RHB. He said, ‘Ishak, you are my good friend; I want to find a way to help you in business. You need any money, I will lend you the money.’ Those were his words.

Rashid was my good friend; we were stockbrokers. [Ishak and his partners set up a stockbroking house before his stint at Bank Bumiputera, but later sold it to Arab Malaysian after it ran into difficulties.]

What happened to your stockbroking business?

We had five partners. The market crashed; we couldn’t top up money [because of lack of funds]. So, we sold it to Arab Malaysian Securities. [Rashid Hussain] said, ‘Ishak, I want to help you. Any public company you want, I will help you.’ I said, ‘Are you sure?’ He said ‘yes’, so I told him I want to buy KFC. He asked how much it would cost me, I said RM100 million, and he approved it.

Why do you think he did that?

That was before Daim resigned as finance minister and Anwar became finance minister. Rashid [possibly] knew; he had knowledge [of what was going to happen]. I was close to Anwar. It could be that.

To digress a little, you were close to Anwar since Permatang Pauh (Anwar’s former constituency and stronghold) days ?

I have known Anwar since Universiti Malaya days; he was my senior. When he wanted to contest in Permatang Pauh in 1981/82, it was not easy then to penetrate the Umno inner circle. Anwar was considered an outsider. Of course, his father, Pak Ibrahim [Datuk Ibrahim Abdul Rahman] was a member of parliament for that area, but he was fighting [against] Zabidi Ali of PAS, who defeated BN’s Ariffin Md Daud [in 1978]. So, he was fighting against a PAS leader, the incumbent. It was very difficult; Zabidi was very strong.

Of course, Mahathir [Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad] asked the Umno leaders to assist Anwar. In front of Mahathir, they said, ‘Yes, we will help’. But, on the ground, they were not helping; they were sabotaging Anwar. Can you believe this? So, my cousin and I and some of our friends started to break away from the Umno machinery. We formed a separate committee and we fought.

You are from Permatang Pauh?

Yes, it’s my kampung. Things were very bad, but finally Anwar won. I was away in Mecca performing the Haj and, when I got back, there were 20 to 30 people at my house — Umno people — and they started congratulating me. Anwar appointed me as Umno divisional secretary for Permatang Pauh, which was considered quite a powerful post.

Anwar was member of parliament; I was division secretary. That’s how it started. For almost 10 years, since 1981, I was division secretary. That’s how we got close and that’s how they know that I’m close with him.

But as I said to you, Anwar is — as a minister, you don’t expect him to give any project to you — very strict. That’s his style. When he was finance minister, I wanted to take over Penang Port, but [the government officials] said I couldn’t because I was too close to Anwar.

So, it was not to your benefit that Anwar was in a position of power?

That’s how he works. He assists, [but only] a bit. That’s why I don’t understand why they say that he has cronies. He doesn’t have companies; he doesn’t give projects on his own.

People always say MRCB [Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (KL:MRCB)] in those days was run by his cronies but, actually, they were Umno’s cronies. Anwar has always been very strict.

So, you couldn’t take Penang Port because of your association with Anwar?

So I said okay, never mind. I mean, that’s all right. So, I don’t know how they [can] say he has cronies.

And [Anwar’s being appointed to a position of power] is why Rashid Hussein wanted to give you funds, thinking you were close to Anwar?

Yeah. Of course, Anwar assisted, he asked Murad [Datuk Abdul Murad Khalid, Bank Negara Malaysia assistant governor] to talk to Loy. That is how I managed to buy KFC: Rashid financed it and Murad facilitated it.

And the price tag was still RM100 million?

No. After we agreed to RM100 million with Loy, he came back to me in one week and said I had made a mistake, that the price was RM120 million. That’s how Loy changes his mind. So, Rashid said, ‘Okay, I know Loy very well; I will talk to him.’ I just said, ‘Fund me 100%.’ That’s how I took control of KFC.

And there were a lot of fights in KFC, many tussles? There was one involving Leong Hup Holdings Bhd.

No, no, they [Leong Hup] were trying to control the company, but we fought back — we needed to — and took control.

So, that was one of the fights for KFC. It was hostile, right?

Leong Hup bought shares; they tried to control [KFC]. We had only 30%, but PNB [Permodalan Nasional Bhd] sold its stake to [a party on] the other side [linked to Leong Hup], but we got more shares. So, [the Leong Hup faction] had to go.

Then there was another fight in KFC that was quite legendary, involving Datuk John Soh Chee Wen.

My problems started when Anwar was sacked from the government. Unlike others close to Anwar, I didn’t leave the country. I stayed behind because I had nowhere to go. And I controlled KFC, the cash cow; I controlled Idris Hydraulic. So, I became the target. Of course, they approached me; they wanted to do what they did with Murad, asking me to make a declaration [incriminating Anwar], but I said, ‘No, I cannot do that; it’s against my religious beliefs.’

[Murad made a statutory declaration in October 1999 suggesting Anwar was hiding billions of ringgit in ‘master accounts’, which has never been proven to be accurate.]

When you say ‘they’, do you mean the government?

People with power — they wanted me to make a false confession and say KFC belonged to Anwar. I said ‘no’. Now, that’s when they started to prosecute me.

I got a call from some people in positions of power. [There was a man who] was a close friend of Anwar’s — all of Anwar’s close friends were now against me, attacking me. He told me to sell KFC or else I would be in trouble. I said, it depends on who the buyer is and at what price; you cannot be simply selling.

He sent two boys from KUB (an Umno-controlled company in those days) who wanted KFC, but they could only offer RM50 million. I said I had a loan with Arab Malaysian for RM200 million. They said, ‘That’s your problem.’

So, I said, ‘I cannot; I cannot sell for RM50 million.’ When I said ‘no’, one week after that, I was prosecuted.

What was the case?

The first one involved allegations that I had made a false declaration in the documents I submitted for Idris Hydraulic’s acquisition of land in Langkawi.

My lawyer was a very senior lawyer. I said to him, ‘What have you done? I’ve been charged for submitting a false declaration. You’re supposed to vet through it.’ He replied, ‘It’s crap; there’s nothing wrong. They just want to go after you.’

Dr Wan Hasni [Wan Sulaiman] of Abrar [Group International Sdn Bhd] was to be charged on the same day as me. They used the regulator to prosecute me. At the end of the day, that’s over; I’ve settled everything.

But you’ve settled, you paid the fine? Because you pleaded guilty, right?

Yes, we paid the RM400,000 fine for the first one — the Idris Hydraulic case — because my lawyer negotiated that one. So, that’s when it first started.

Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli owned the shares in Idris Hydraulic but you were running the company?

It was Tajuddin who lent me the money to pay for the Idris Hydraulic shares. Later, when the share price rose to RM5, RM6, he sold it; he still made a lot of money. Later on, when Idris Hydraulic acquired land [from] Promet [Bhd] in Langkawi, we [Idris Hydraulic] issued shares. Those are the shares that I bought and owned.

Idris Hydraulic was the cash cow for Semangat 46? So, to weaken Semangat 46, you came into Idris Hydraulic?

I came in because of my relationship with Datuk Harun [Idris]. He joined Semangat 46, along with [Datuk Seri] Rais Yatim, Tengku Razaleigh, Rahmah, Marina.

We managed to buy the shares from Semangat 46. When the shares crossed, they were 65 sen. I started managing the company, bringing in new business. The timber business — in Sabah, I managed to buy about 700,000ha in Keningau. I managed to wrest control [of Idris Hydraulic and] we teamed up with Aokam [then run by long-time fugitive Teh Soon Seng, who passed away in Hong Kong]. Everybody loved it.

So, investors bought the story?

Yes, I also managed to get a teak [wood] business from Myanmar. The timber business is the one that really pushed Idris Hydraulic to almost, I think, RM8.50. So, that’s history.

Then you had to let go of Idris Hydraulic to Datuk [Che Mohd] Annuar Che Mohd Senawi.

They wanted me to give up Idris Hydraulic for free. That’s history. I was still in control of KFC; they still wanted to take control. Someone in a position of power was financing John Soh. John Soh is my good friend. I asked him, ‘Why are you doing this to me?’ He said, ‘No, no, I’ve been asked by [that someone in power] to take control of KFC.’

I fought and won and took control. We had many court cases, and we had to settle. Once [it was] cleared, I sold it to JCorp [Johor Corp Bhd], to Kulim [Bhd, a unit of JCorp], sorry. [Former JCorp CEO] Tan Sri Muhammad Ali Hashim loved it, so I sold it to him. I had no choice, because they were already after me.

They didn’t try to block the sale?

They tried. They went to court; I managed to lift the injunction. Once the court lifted the injunction, I was free to sell the shares; the shares were crossed to Kulim.

I was still running Idris Hydraulic, but the pressure to relinquish control was very strong. I’d been asked [by certain people] to give the shares to businessman Annuar Senawi. Idris Hydraulic had about RM800 million worth of assets, timber, insurance company…

So, these were the two listed companies?

Another one was Prime Utilities [Bhd] — [now] IWK [Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd]. Now, Prime Utilities is a very interesting story.

I was asked by the cabinet to take over Prime Utilities from Datuk Ghazi Ramli and [Tan Sri] Vincent Tan. Ghazi had only 10% of the business.

Then I asked a few friends about it because the price was very expensive — RM650 million.

I said, ‘It’s a tough business; at IWK, the collection is very bad.’ The plan then was to link IWK [payments] with the water bill. If you cannot pay IWK, then we cut the water supply. But, of course, water is controlled by the state. You must have every state agree to the link [with IWK]; they would have to pass a ‘special resolution’.

To cut the story short, I still refused to do it. One day, I was called by the Prime Minister’s Department. During the cabinet meeting, I was there and the cabinet instructed me to buy IWK. Can you imagine this? Tan Sri Halim [Ali], the KSN (ketua setiausaha negara, or chief secretary to the government) issued me a letter from the cabinet asking me to buy IWK.

Do you still have the letter?

I moved office several times; I lost it.

At what price did you buy IWK?

RM650 million.

Was it making money?

It was not making money, but I had no choice. But Anwar said he’d help get the IWK contract [concession] extended from 20 years to 40 years.

The MoF [Ministry of Finance] gave a grant of RM1 billion to start the operations and Anwar asked the EPU [Economic Planning Unit] to start the process of linking the water bill to IWK.

Now, the problem started when Anwar was sacked from the government. So, I’m carrying the baby, you know. Then, one day, I get a call and [the person on the other end of the line] said, ‘Ishak, the government wants to buy back IWK from you’ — I thought it would be like how the government bought back MAS from Tajuddin [at RM8 a share, or RM1.79 billion, in 1993, although it was trading much lower at RM3.60].

I said, ‘Give me the same price as my cost.’ He said, ‘No, no, the government can only pay you RM200 million. Take it or leave it. I suggest you take it.’ That’s what I was told. What choice do I have?

What about the grant, the RM1 billion?

No, it’s with IWK. So, the government will continue because the government and the MoF bought IWK. So, now, IWK is still not running well; they have been suffering until now. The government has to keep on funding. I lost RM450 million; in the end, I had no choice.

Because of that, I had been suffering, with a RM450 million loss. All my savings and everything was gone. And that’s why I lay low; I had to continue paying the debts from 1999 for 25 years. I was suffering, trying to settle those debts.

But, then, there were certain times you surfaced, like in Kenmark [Industrial Co (M) Bhd].

No, no, Kenmark was nothing; it was an opportunity, you know.

But you settled with the Securities Commission Malaysia over this case, right? Why did they file criminal charges?

That one, I don’t know.

Are you saying the animosity towards you has persisted since the 1990s?

I can’t comment on this.

You’ve been in a lot of battles in your corporate life...

Ya ... but, finally, we settled it. They want me to pay the full fine, yeah. Then they withdrew the criminal charges and I paid RM20 million.

And you were barred from being a director of listed companies for a number of years?

Four years, five years. Now, it’s over. It’s over; so I can be director.

Tell us a little about Transmile, now Raya Airways.

The opportunity came in 2013, when the receivers approached me to buy Transmile. It was quite cheap, very cheap. I got some money from my overseas investment. But, of course, the financing came from Amcorp. Arab and Amcorp have been helping me from day one. So, Azman [Tan Sri Azman Hashim of AmBank group] is my good friend; he has been helping me from day one to fund me in many things, you know, in KFC, in Idris Hydraulic.

How much did you pay for Transmile?

About RM45 million. They had three planes and contracts with DHL. It had some good business. It’s not easy; [it has been] up and down. My son is running it ... We lost money, we made money. But we hit the market during Covid-19, 2020, 2021, when charter rates went up so high. And Raya made so much money.

We heard you were eyeing MMAG [Holdings Bhd (KL:MMAG)].

No, MMAG is a competitor. They are also running the cargo business. That’s how I know Victor [Chin].

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