KUALA LUMPUR: Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin has passed the buck to the acting chief executive of the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) in answering the departure of its latest senior executive.
Khaled said he was not involved in the day-to-day running of the pension fund.
"My only instruction (to the LTAT) was that every decision must be inclusive... (they must) discuss with all stakeholders and any major changes must go through the Cabinet. That was my only message (to them)," he told Business Times when asked whether the exodus of senior officials reflected an ongoing "retaliation" among its leadership towards his "style" of administration.
It was learnt that senior director of strategy Dayana Rogayah Omar, 39, has submitted her resignation and is currently serving out her notice.
A spokesman for LTAT said Dayana resigned to pursue other interests.
Her resignation makes for three in the space of a month at the pension fund for the 120,000 serving members of the armed forces and followed Khaled's decision to put LTAT's Strategic Plan 2023-2025 (SUSTAINABLE25) on hold.
Chief financial officer Mohammad Ashraf Md Radzi is currently the acting chief executive of the fund, which has assets under management (AUM) of RM10 billion.
Dayana's departure follows that of Datuk Ahmad Nazim Abd Rahman on Jan 31General Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor on Feb 8.
Ahmad Nazim's resignation letter to the defence minister, sighted by Business Times, expressed concern that the decision to put the fund's strategic plan on hold would shorten the runway for its execution, and present a significant risk to the balance sheet of LTAT, besides impacting its ability to meet the minimum dividend target for 2023.
The plan, under the stewardship of Ahmad Nazim, was to reposition LTAT as a retirement fund just like the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
In an exclusive interview with the Business Times last year, he had said the goal was to provide sustainable dividends to members through greater exposure of assets and investments internationally, among others.
Some key SUSTAINABLE25 targets included achieving RM15 billion of AUM by next year and liquid assets of more than 60 per cent from about 20 per cent now.
A major part of the restructuring exercise is turning around the Boustead group of companies, which makes up about 50 per cent of LTAT's investments.
Boustead Heavy Industries Corp Bhd still owns a 20 per cent interest in littoral combat ship contractor Lumut Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd, formerly known as Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd.
Khaled, in acknowledging the resignations of Ahmad Nazim and Raja Mohamed Affandi, told Business Times on Feb 11 that LTAT was resolutely steering through this transitional phase with operations proceeding seamlessly.
He added that the decision-making authority rested within the domain of LTAT, where any successor would be obliged to adhere to the mandates prescribed by the government.
"As the defence minister, I am meeting all stakeholders, seeking their perspectives on the best course of action regarding LTAT and its affiliated entities' plans. Simultaneously, I am looking at LTAT's plans and assessing the potential consequences on the LTAT ecosystem, all to benefit its shareholders," he said.
Meanwhile, Pharmaniaga Bhd announced yesterday that Dayana resigned as an alternate director of the company, effective Feb 14.
The board of Pharmaniaga received the resignation letter on Feb 16.
Dayana was appointed the alternate director for Mohammad Ashraf, another LTAT nominee.
Pharmaniaga, a Practice Note 17 (PN17) company, submitted its regularisation plan to Bursa Malaysia on Nov 29 last year.
On Feb 1, the company said in a Bursa filing it was preparing applications about the regularisation plan and would submit the application for approval in due course.
Pharmaniaga fell into PN17 status in February last year after posting a net loss of RM654.39 million in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2022, following a RM552.3 million provision for unsold Covid-19 vaccine stock.
A PN17 company is a listed company that does not have a core business or has failed to meet the minimum capital or equity requirements and shareholders' funds.