Glove maker WRP Asia appoints new interim CEO

Glove maker WRP Asia has appointed a new interim CEO who will lead a turnaround team funded by its majority shareholder TAEL Partners, according to lawyers acting on behalf of the company's present management.

Founder and managing partner of law firm Thomas Philip, Mathew Thomas Philip, said the move followed the order from the High Court in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, granting a stay on the appointment of interim liquidators in charge of WRP Asia since Dec 30 last year.

"The decision of the court to grant an interim stay of the interim liquidator’s appointment marks an important turning point for WRP.

"The board of directors, led by TAEL Partners, have made available more than RM22 million in funding to the specialised turnaround team that will finally have comprehensive control over the operations," Thomas Philip said in a statement.

Among others, the new CEO's role will be to take charge of WRP Asia's reorganisation efforts with a view to resume operations, deliver outstanding orders and resolve its human resource issues.

Thomas Philip noted that there would be difficult decisions to be made in the process, among others, to remediate reported "irregular labour policies" currently in place.

"As such, we call on all parties concerned to work closely with the new team for a strong and successful WRP," he added.

WRP Asia's initial move to suspend its operations was made three months after the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency announced it was banned on suspicion of using forced labour.

Since then, Human Resources Minister M Kula Segaran said the ministry is closely monitoring developments surrounding WRP Asia's operations.

Kula also repeated his call for glove makers to implement a self-regulated independent audit of their supply chain to avoid losses due to US-led trade sanctions.