PETALING JAYA: Kedah Agro Holdings Berhad (KAHB) has ended its operations as it has been deemed to be no longer financially viable, says menteri besar Sanusi Nor.
Sanusi said that while the Menteri Besar Inc (MBI) Kedah subsidiary has not shut down, it has laid off several employees since March 31.
“I have been informed that the company’s operations are not viable anymore and has been discontinued, which should have been done long ago,” Harian Metro quoted him as saying.
“The company is not closed, it has just ended its operations. KAHB still has assets, debts, and liabilities, so it can’t be closed down.
“It has ended its operations, and there have to be parties that settle their (KAHB’s) debt (before KAHB can shut down),” said Sanusi, who is also the chairman of MBI Kedah.
His comments come after a KAHB employee’s letter of termination was widely shared on social media.
On March 19, human resources minister Steven Sim told the Dewan Rakyat that KAHB will settle its current salaries and outstanding wages totalling about RM560,000 before Hari Raya Aidilfitri following a meeting between the Kedah GLC and the state government.
Sim said KAHB has not paid the 24 employees their salaries since September last year.
Sanusi previously insisted that the state government would not foot KAHB’s salary bill, but it might consider providing it a loan.
He claimed that while the previous Barisan Nasional state government allowed MBI Kedah to partially cover the salaries of KAHB’s’ employees, he was against such practices.
“I don’t want to betray Kedahans’ trust just to help these 24 people,” he said on March 24, adding that the company had been flagged by the national audit department as far back as 2017.
