When Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh retired at the end of last year, he said that he would like to spend his time sharing and passing on his experiences and knowledge gained in over 25 years in the auto industry. He served in various roles in UMW Toyota Motor, including establishing and heading the division which handled the Lexus premium brand. After that, he was appointed President & CEO of Perodua, leading it through a period of significant development and growth.

Now, MBM Resources Berhad (MBMR) will benefit from having Datuk Aminar to provide guidance as the new Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors. He takes over from Dato’ Abdul Rahim bin Abd Halim who has been holding the position since 2007 and is retiring from the Board as Directors.

Industry veteran with long ties to Daihatsu

Dato’ Abdul Rahim too is a veteran in the auto industry and has an association with the Daihatsu brand going back to 1977 when he was in Med-Bumikar-MARA which imported the 1-litre Daihatsu Charade. He remained with the company, moving up as it evolved into the public-listed Med-Bumikar Mara Sdn. Bhd. Group of Companies (the MBM Group) in 1995.

Datuk Aminar will be involved in Perodua again in his new role as MBMR has the second largest shareholding of 20% in the Malaysian carmaker. MBMR also has a 42% share in Hino Motors (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. Besides handling the Daihatsu brand via subsidiary Daihatsu (Malaysia), it is also involved in the retail business as dealer for the Volvo and Volkswagen brands.

MBMR also expanded into automotive parts manufacturing with the acquisition of wheel manufacturer, Oriental Metal Industries (M) Sdn. Bhd.; and Autoliv Hirotako Sdn. Bhd. and Hirotako Acoustics Sdn. Bhd.

Assurance of continuity in leadership
A statement from MBMR regarding the change of leadership gave assurance that, ‘despite the departure of the long-serving and experienced directors and the Chairman, the Board is committed in ensuring continuity and has made several changes in the Board composition to focus on plans and strategies to boost MBMR’s future growth. The restructuring of the committee includes the appointment of the new members in the Audit and Risk Management Committee, Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC) and Chairman of MBMR Group.’