On 19th November, Datuk Bazlan Osman’s short tenure as Telekom Malaysia’s Group CEO came to an end as the company announced his resignation from the post, effective immediately. It was in June this year that he had taken over the role from Mohammed Shazalli Ramly. Now, as his five months stint came to an end, it stirred the market and slid the company’s share price. 

On Monday's (19th Nov)  trading, its share price fell more than 5% to close at RM2.26. Year-to-date, Telekom Malaysia has dropped 63%, wiping out RM14bil from its market capitalization. 

Although Telekom Malaysia appointed COO Imri Mokhtar as the acting Group CEO, the sudden exit of Datuk Bazlan raised suspicion that the Malaysian telecommunications company is going through challenging times with pressure mounting on its performance. 

In these difficult times, the responsibility now comes on Imri’s shoulder who Chairman, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Sulaiman Mahbob describes as Telekom Malaysia’s home-grown talent.  With a strong background in strategy and business operations, Tan Sri Dato’ believes that Imri will be able to navigate the company through the current challenges and position them in a more resilient, competitive and sustainable footing. 

Imri has over 20 years of experience in business strategy and operations from the communications and media industry. He first started his career with Telekom Malaysia in 1996 and re-joined it in 2005. He has played many roles in the company from VP, program and performance management office to EVP, Consumer.

While Imri has been declared as the acting Group CEO, the decision to make the final appointment lies with the company’s special shareholder and has its own due process. Hence, time will tell if Imri will eventually be confirmed for the role. 

Instability at the leadership level negatively impacts business

Lately, one of the oldest Malaysian telecommunication companies has been struggling to deliver to the promises of its consumers and thus has been receiving pressure from the regulator for the shortcomings in its services. The telecommunication giant, Telekom Malaysia fell 4.62% or 11 sen to RM2.27. Further, it also announced that its Internet services have been down since Saturday (Nov 17) night due to multiple fiber cables cut incidents by third-party contractors in Sentul and Sabak Bernam.

With two major exits from the leadership team in a year, the Telekom Malaysia is missing the presence of a strong and stable leader who can spearhead the company out of the menace.  As per experts, the company requires someone with marketing and technical know-how, someone who can shape the company’s present and future by streamlining the structure, making it flat and making everyone accountable. 

How Telekom Malaysia makes most from a workforce of 24,000 and optimizes its current resources to move ahead from this challenging phase is to watch out for. 

Image Source: FreeMalaysiaToday