KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 — Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) says its chairman Rosli Man had received a request from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to defer the appointment of the group’s chief executive officer (CEO).

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, TM said the chairman had informed the board of the PMO’s request early March 2019.

"We believe that it is good corporate governance to engage key stakeholders including the PMO,” it said in response to an article titled "Telekom CEO Stand-Off” in The Edge Financial Daily today.

The report quoted sources as saying that Rosli had refused to proceed with the appointment of acting CEO Imri Mokhtar as its CEO, despite the decision to approve Imri’s appointment by TM’s special shareholder, the Minister of Finance Inc.

TM referred to the paragraph in the report that said : "Sources told The Edge Financial Daily that TM’s statement on Wednesday, when it said that the appointment of its CEO has to go through due process with MoF and its board of directors, was not accurate.”

The telco reaffirmed the information given in its earlier statement on Wednesday.

TM said its board of directors had recommended the appointment of Imri as MD/GCEO to the Ministry of Finance (MOF).

"Subsequently, the MOF has agreed to the appointment via a letter dated Feb 28, 2019, subject to the proper execution of documents and approval of the terms and conditions.

"Any formal announcement relating to the above position will be made in due course,” it added. — Bernama