PM Anwar steps in to end bitter tussle at Malaysia government tech provider NexG, say insiders

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has stepped in to end the high-stakes corporate confrontation between two of his acolytes for control of the government’s primary technology solutions provider, according to sources and insiders. 

Corporate executives and government officials close to the situation told CNA that the premier had ordered his former political aide-turned-business figure Farhash Wafa Salvador to withdraw from a months-long campaign to take control of NexG.

Sources said that the directive clears the way for forces led by veteran businessman Ishak Ismail - another long-time associate of the premier - to lead the company. 

The insiders added that Anwar's instruction stems from a desire to avoid another high-profile controversy, given that his administration is already grappling with a recent Bloomberg report alleging collusion between the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and corporate figures to orchestrate hostile takeovers of listed firms.

The order was issued earlier this week and conveyed to at least two different persons, shortly before the en masse resignation of six NexG board directors aligned to Farhash on Wednesday (Mar 11), which was announced to Bursa Malaysia, the country’s stock exchange.

Ishak, who is currently performing the Umrah pilgrimage in Mecca, could not be reached by CNA for comment. 

However, a senior aide of Ishak said that his boss had received word that Anwar "had advised the group led by Farhash to give up the fight for NexG".

"The fight is over," the aide said.

A senior banker and two corporate executives with close ties to Ishak told CNA that NexG is expected to announce eight new directors in coming days, to be led by Ishak and his son, Mohamad Najib Ishak.

Anwar's intervention has averted what was becoming an acrimonious corporate confrontation headed for the courts. 

Just hours before Anwar ordered Farhash's business groups to withdraw, NexG founder Abu Hanifah Noordin made allegations of abuse of power at the government tech provider.

In a statement widely circulated on Tuesday, Abu Hanifah claimed that several former directors, independent directors and key management officers were "forced to leave their positions under circumstances that raised serious concerns with the company".

"I was made aware that representations and threats had allegedly been made to certain individuals that they could face investigations by the authorities, including potential PDRM and AMLA-related actions, should they refuse to step down," Abu Hanifah said, referring to the Malaysian police and alleged anti-money laundering offences.

The following account is reconstructed from interviews with bankers, lawyers and government officials, together with court documents and internal corporate records obtained by CNA.

NEXG’S ORIGIN AND FARHASH’S ENTRY

Abu Hanifah, a businessman who previously enjoyed close ties to former premier Muhyiddin Yassin, incorporated the company as Datasonic Group in 2008. 

Datasonic was listed on Bursa Malaysia in 2012 and became central to the country's border-security systems, supplying smart identification cards, passport chips and high-security personalisation solutions.

The company underwent numerous shareholding changes and was rebranded as NexG in February last year, becoming entangled in a web of crossholdings involving various corporate personalities.

These include Victor Chin Boon Long, a businessman whose publicly listed companies cut across different sectors from moneylending to logistics, and include entities such as Velocity Capital, MMAG Holdings, Hong Seng Consolidated, NexG, Green Packet and Revenue Group. 

Chin brought Farhash into his corporate orbit a year ago when the latter bought an equity interest in MMAG.

The move is said to have caught the attention of Malaysia’s investing community, which tends to be drawn to counters with perceived political connections.

Farhash holds no direct equity in NexG. He has a 20 per cent interest in MMAG, a publicly listed logistics firm in which NexG itself owns a 10 per cent stake.

FRAYING CORPORATE TIES

According to financial executives tracking NexG developments, relations between Chin and Farhash began fraying in mid-2025. 

In and around the period, NexG had secured several new and extended government contracts: an 18-month extension from the Home Ministry for foreign worker cards, a six-year contract to supply Malaysian passports and identity cards, and expanded work producing driving licence cards for the Road Transport Department. 

Bankers close to Chin said relations between the two men deteriorated over disagreements regarding Chin's control of NexG, with Farhash seeking more direct equity interest. Farhash could not be reached by CNA for comment.

Corporate executives and bankers told CNA that the rupture soon drew regulatory heat on transactions NexG had entered into.

They said that this prompted Chin to seek potential investors to take over his interest in NexG.

It was against this backdrop that Ishak entered the picture.

In the 1990s, Ishak ranked among Malaysia's most aggressive corporate players, frequently surfacing in takeovers of publicly listed companies and as a beneficiary of government concessions under Malaysia's privatisation programme, including rights to operate national wastewater management through Indah Water.

Stockbrokers and financial executives close to Ishak said that in mid-November, the businessman acquired a 25 per cent interest in NexG controlled by Chin's corporate vehicles and nominees.

Shortly after the deal, Chin - then the company's chief operating officer - resigned from NexG. He has since left Malaysia, according to bankers close to him.

HOSTILE PUSHBACK

Sources said Ishak's entry triggered hostile resistance from forces aligned with Farhash who quickly took control by appointing several figures as directors.

Despite not being a shareholder, Farhash was able to do so given a brief leadership vacuum in the company left by Chin's departure from NexG.

The new directors included lawyers Chong Loong Men and Aswath Ramakrishnan, and accountant Kunal Tayal, an Indian national closely tied to businessman Aminul Islam Abdul Nor.

Aminul, a former Bangladeshi national who acquired Malaysian citizenship, is the controlling shareholder of Bestinet, a major player in Malaysia's lucrative foreign labour recruitment business.

According to lawyers and bankers close to the situation, the new directors began intervening directly in company operations, and ties with NexG founder Abu Hanifah grew increasingly strained.

The confrontation came to a head last week with NexG's announcement temporarily suspending Abu Hanifah's executive powers as executive chairman and chief executive officer, pending a review of certain investments.

On Tuesday, Abu Hanifah publicly declared that his powers were suspended after he objected to board proposals to subcontract government contracts to third parties.

"I was protecting the company from being robbed in daylight of certain core technologies," he said in a statement quoted by local media, adding that the plan involved subcontracting NexG's expertise to competitor HeiTech Padu – a company listed on Bursa Malaysia and previously associated with Farhash.

Abu Hanifah also referenced two individuals, "Mr A" and "Mr X", whom he claimed were exerting direct influence over NexG.

"I have in my possession voice recordings …  of Mr X and Mr A to prove my innocence, the truthfulness of my statements and their wrongdoings," he said. "Multiple copies of these recordings have been made for public disclosure and stored in multiple locations overseas."

CNA has reached out to Abu Hanifah via the email used for his Tuesday statement to ask who is "Mr A" and "Mr X". He has yet to respond.

Just one day later on Wednesday, NexG announced that it had reinstated Abu Hanifah's executive powers.

A senior aide of Ishak’s said that apart from the impending new board appointments, the owners of NexG do not intend to make any senior management changes. 

“He (Ishak) wants things to settle down first in the company," he said.

Editor's note: Malaysian businessman Farhash Wafa Salvador has denied any involvement in a boardroom tussle at NexG and says that he has not been contacted by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, nor received any instruction, directive or communication from the prime minister in relation to NexG. Farhash’s denial was conveyed in a letter from his lawyer to CNA. Read the report here.