A short time ago, TRANSIT wrote a post regarding the accomplishments of Idrose Mohamed, Managing Director of the Prasarana group. Idrose had taken over this position from Shaipudin Shah Harun in September 2008 shortly after the latter’s quick resignation from Prasarana.
Today, TRANSIT notes that Idrose has himself chosen not to renew his contract with Prasarana and is currently on administrative leave awaiting the end of his contract.
Prasarana Group MD Datuk Idrose Mohamed had conveyed to the board of directors his wish of not continuing [extending?] his two-year contract and it is understood that the board has accepted his decision.
A list of projects undertaken by Idrose as MD of Prasarana. Image & information courtesy of Business Times.
Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd group managing director (MD) Datuk Idrose Mohamed will not be renewing his contract when it expires on September 30.
“Idrose had conveyed to the board of directors his wish of not continuing the two-year contract at a meeting earlier this month,” a source close to the matter told Business Times yesterday.
It is understood that the board has accepted Idrose’s decision.
Idrose has been on paid administrative leave since September 8 pending expiry of his contract.
“During this period, Prasarana chairman Tan Sri Izuddin Dali will help run the day-to-day affairs of the group until a new MD arrives,” said the source.
Idrose could not be reached for comment, while Prasarana group communications general manager Ebi Azly Abdullah declined to comment.
Already, three names are being tipped to take over the helm of the public transport group: former UEM Builders Bhd MD Ridza Abdoh Salleh, 54; former PECD Bhd group chief executive officer (CEO) Rosman Abdullah, 43; and Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chief operating officer (COO) Shahril Mokhtar, 38.
Ridza has also served as the COO for rail at Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd (RapidKL). Prior to that, he was the CEO of Prasarana and, earlier, MD of Projek Usahasama Transit Ringan Automatik Sdn Bhd.
Rosman was with PECD from 2003 to 2009. He was the executive director of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd from 1997 to 2003.
Shahril was previously RapidKL’s corporate planning and strategy general manager before being seconded as adviser to the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department in setting up SPAD.
Idrose, 54, took the helm of the loss-making public transport operator on October 1 2008, succeeding Shaipudin Shah Harun who had resigned.
Prasarana is the asset owner of the two light rail transit (LRT) systems and bus services in the Klang Valley, while subsidiary RapidKL operates them.
Prasarana’s subsidiaries include KL StarRail Sdn Bhd, which manages the KL Monorail system, and Rapid Penang Sdn Bhd, operator of Penang’s bus service.
Idrose, a civil engineer, served in the Public Works Department and the Malaysian Highway Authority before joining UEM Group Bhd as head of engineering and operations in 1994.
He was PLUS Bhd’s MD in July 1999 before being appointed group MD and chief executive officer of Pos Malaysia Bhd in April 2007.
TRANSIT Says:
We at TRANSIT were generally happy with Idrose for his positive, open communications style, customer-focused approach, and willingness to stick his neck out and get things done. Unfortunately, those qualities made him one of a few in the public transport industry – and they also meant that he had to take on a lot of responsibility himself.
During his 2 years at Prasarana, Idrose reorganized the group by placing RapidKL and RapidPenang as subsidiary companies (along with other subsidiaries representing other interests of Prasarana). Under Idrose, Prasarana basically took over RapidKL and started driving change in the LRT system with a massive overhaul of stations and introducing many new projects and reviving long-delayed projects from the past.
So while Idrose’s departure from Prasarana does come as a surprise, we are happy to say that he has accomplished a lot of positive things for the company and we do appreciate his effort and his willingness to accept feedback.
The list of candidates for the new Managing Director is quite an interesting one as the strengths of the new Managing Director must reflect the goals that the government and Economic Planning Unit have to improve public transport. Given that the government has committed themselves to an MRT project in the Klang Valley, they need someone with a great deal of experience to manage the planning, construction, and commissioning of the proposed lines, as well as integrating them with the existing public transport system.
For these reasons, we expect that Rizda Abdoh Salleh will be named as Managing Director to replace Idrose – namely because of his prior experience with PUTRA and as COO of RapidKL. But this is Malaysia so you never know.
Looking to the future, we hope that the new Managing Director can move Prasarana back to its original responsibility – to provide public transport infrastructure – and allow RapidKL and Rapid Penang to become local public transport organizing authorities, much like Transport for London or Translink.
In this way, Prasarana would remain a holding company, with the financial and engineering resources to provide the infrastructure that is needed to operate a successful public transport system, while RapidKL and RapidPenang can focus on providing good quality services at the local level.
Transit Malaysia 