KUALA LUMPUR (July 10): Talam Transform Bhd (KL:TALAMT) shareholders rejected all resolutions tabled at Friday's extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to remove its current board and appoint a fresh line-up, thwarting an attempt by a group of minority shareholders to seize management control.
Shareholders voted to reject all 14 ordinary resolutions tabled to effect the boardroom coup at the EGM — the second this year pushed forward by a group of shareholders: Ang Lam Poah, Loo Leong Fatt and his daughter Loo Foong Luan — who collectively hold a 12.62% stake in the group.
About 67.5% of the voted shares were cast against the proposals, significantly outpacing the 32.5% cast in favour, according to the group's bourse filing on Friday.
The failed resolutions include the immediate removal of current directors — chairman Ngiam Kee Tong, executive directors Chua Kim Lan and Chan Tet Eu, independent non-executive directors Datuk Abdul Hamid Mustapha and Tai Keat Chai, non-independent non-executive directors Puan Sri Datin Thong Nyok Choo and Ling Chee Min, and alternate director Chan Siu Ching Candice — and a proposal to remove any casual board member appointed between the notice date of the EGM requisition and the actual meeting.
Thong is the widow of the company's founder, the late Tan Sri Chan Ah Cye, while Tet Eu and Siu Ching Candice are her son and daughter, respectively.
Thong is currently the group’s largest shareholder with 17.51% direct stake and a 4.94% indirect stake as at end-January, or a total 22.45%. Prestigious Performance Sdn Bhd, which is controlled by Loy Boon Chen and Liau Yoke Leang, is another substantial shareholder with a 7.26% stake.
Shareholders also rejected the resolutions for the appointments of five new directors — Lim Gin Gee, Chen Cheong Fat, Chee Seong Heng, Lee Bang Haur and William Ang Wei Liang.
Background of the attempted coup
The boardroom tussle stems from an ongoing dispute between Talam Transform and shareholders Ang (chief executive officer of Jaks Resources Bhd (KL:JAKS)), Leong Fatt, a Malaysian businessman involved in property development in Vietnam and his daughter Foong Luan.
The trio first emerged as substantial shareholders on Aug 6, 2025 following a private placement, where they subscribed to the group's shares at 10.82 sen apiece. The trio also struck a deal to acquire Thong's stake at 35 sen apiece for RM91.66 million.
However, Ang told The Edge (in an article published July 6, 2026) that the deal was hampered by Talam Transform's debt of RM263.54 million owed to construction giant IJM Corp Bhd (KL:IJM). The debt made banks uncomfortable, Ang said. Thong acknowledged that Ang paid a RM500,000 deposit for the stake, but said the deal lapsed by November 2025 after his faction failed to secure the financing to pay the rest.
Following the collapse of the deal, the trio requisitioned an EGM to appoint an independent auditor to undertake a forensic audit of Talam Transform's past corporate transactions and deals. That meeting, held on May 14 this year — but eschewed by Ang's faction — saw 99.99% of shareholders rejecting the resolutions tabled.
In The Edge's report, Thong said her associates had approached Ang's faction to buy them out. But they sought 35 sen per share and pressured her to get "a fantastic return" of RM50 million in less than six months. Ang retorted that this was a benchmark she set in their initial deal.
Shortly after the first EGM ended, the trio attempted to oust the current board by requisitioning another EGM. This was the meeting held on Friday, which again saw the resolutions tabled by Ang's faction defeated.
Shares of Talam Transform, which have fallen 20% year to date, closed unchanged at eight sen on Friday, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM88.69 million.