Q3. (a) Tengku Zafrul bin Tengku Abdul Aziz (born 25 June 1973) is a Malaysian banker and investor who has served as the Minister of Finance in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration under Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Senator since March 2020. Prior to his appointment to the Cabinet, he was the Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Executive Director of the CIMB Group Holdings Berhad. He was also the CEO and Executive Director of the CIMB Bank Berhad and President Commissioner of the PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk, Indonesia.

Required:

Assess above case study and answer below questions with regards to Corporate Governance Standard and Practices of Bank Negara Malaysia (CG-BNM).

1. Prior to Tengku Zafruls appointment as the Minister of Finance, state the reason on why he must resign from all his positions in financial institutions. (2 marks)

2. Due to his resignation, CIMB Group Holdings Berhad (CIMB) was hiring a new person to replace his positions. Assuming the Board of Directors of CIMB issued the official appointment letter to the new director on 1 February 2020 due to urgent management and operational matters, discuss whether CIMB was following the CG-BNM if the application was made on 1 January 2020. State the process of appointing a new CEO. (3 marks)

3. Assuming the new director is facing a corruption trial charge and he pleaded not guilty for the charge. Justify whether the new director is qualified for his position. And under what circumstances that the rules can be rolled over? (5 marks)

(b) Mergers and acquisitions are common in the banking scene ever since Bank Negara Malaysia initiated a consolidation protocol back in the late 90s in hopes of achieving a more effective and competitive banking system. In line with the national agenda of the Financial Sector Blueprint 2011-2020 to position the country as an international Islamic financial center known as Malaysia Islamic Financial Center (MIFC), Malaysia has put up several proposals to merge several Islamic banks within the region and in the country. Although the proposals have come and gone over the years and never succeeded, it was noted that the biggest effort was put in 2015 between CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. (CIMB), RHB Capital Bhd. (RHB) and Malaysia Building Society Bhd. (MBSB) to create a powerful regional financial powerhouse in Asian region. Although the three-way merger of banks has been cancelled, discuss FOUR (4) potential benefits given to the countrys financial systems generally, and Islamic financial system specifically, if the merger was successful. (20 marks)