15/06/2010 (Up Stream Online) - An ex-executive with Malaysian homegrown palm oil giant, Felda, Mohamad Bakke Salleh, has been brought in to head up state-owned Sime Darby as a legal probe is underway on the massive losses incurred by the conglomerate’s energy division.

Bakke’s number task was to 'to extricate the company from the current mess' and ‘refocus on its core strength which is in the palm oil plantations and its downstream processing business', RAM Holdings’ chief economist, Yeh Kim Leng, was cited as saying in an Agence France-Presse report.

The appointment comes after Sime Darby swung into the red with a first quarter loss of 308.6 million ringgit ($94 million) on 1.3 billion ringgit provision losses incurred by the energy division.

Last month, the previous group chief executive, Ahmad Zubir Murshid was asked to take a leave of absence before his contract expires in November.

Sime Darby has commissioned a forensic audit and legal investigation into the massive losses.

The conglomerate will make all relevant disclosures about the investigation around the end of August, as soon as the third phase of the legal probe is ready, chairman Tun Musa Hitam told local reporters.

Investigation is undertaken by KPMG, Deloitte Enterprise Risk Services and several legal consultants into four projects including the Al Shaheen development for Maersk Oil in Qatar.