two possible Candidates for MFT top post
PETALING JAYA: The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chief development officer Azmi Abdul Aziz has been tipped as a possible candidate to replace “outgoing” Mass Rapid Transit Corp Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) chief executive officer Datuk Wira Azhar Abdul Hamid.
A source also hinted that Prasarana Malaysia Bhd group managing director Datuk Seri Shahril Mokhtar could also be a candidate to helm the organisation that is overseeing the country’s largest infrastructure project.
Azhar announced his resignation from MRT Corp on Aug 19, just hours after a worksite accident in which three foreign workers were killed.
Azhar had been on the job since Sept 1, 2011.
“Tentatively, Azhar is scheduled to leave by Dec 31 or until a replacement is found to helm MRT Corp,” said the source.
Currently, Azmi’s portfolio in SPAD includes policy and planning, special projects and technology, transformation management as well as knowledge and management.
Shahril, meanwhile, has been managing Prasarana – which owns the light rail transit (LRT) system, monorail and Rapid buses in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Kuantan – since October 2010.
Shahril was previously the CEO of SPAD. Prasarana is also currently overseeing the RM7bil LRT extension project.
While Azhar’s resignation came as a shock to many, MRT Corp’s board of directors had on Aug 27 decided not to consider his resignation at this juncture, as they had evaluated Azhar’s performance since he became CEO.
It is reported that the board found MRT Corp was heading in the right direction, as evidenced by the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project, which has achieved good progress at a 50% completion rate, which is ahead of schedule, and commendable financial management of the project.
Following the incident and Azhar’s resignation, it was reported that three senior personnel of the project delivery partner on the Klang Valley MRT project had tendered their resignations on Aug 27.
MMC-Gamuda KVMRT Sdn Bhd said the three staff members were MMC-Gamuda Sungai Buloh-Kajang line project manager Ismail Hassan, supervision consultant AECOM senior resident engineer David Douglas and resident engineer Norrizan Ismail.
It was also announced that project director Ian Thoms had decided not to seek an extension of his contract.
Currently, the RM23bil MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang line is progressing well, with the first phase on schedule to be operational in two years.