Published December 4, 2008

Malaysian royal quits Petra over Bruce Willis tiff

He says that movie star's lawsuit had humiliated him

By PAULINE NG IN KUALA LUMPUR
Email this article
Print article
Feedback

A MALAYSIAN royal family member's abrupt resignation from a 'green rubber' company that was sued by Diehard movie star Bruce Willis could make for an awkward visit to Malaysia this week by former US president Bill Clinton.

Bruce Willis: Remains a shareholder in the venture

Negri Sembilan's Tuanku Imran Ja'afar said yesterday that he is quitting as a director of Petra Group companies and as group chairman. The lawsuit had humiliated him, he said.

Actor Willis invested US$900,000 in Petra subsidiary Elastomer Technologies, which owns the DeLink process to recycle rubber compounds from used tyres. He sued to get back his money after Elastomer failed to list on London's Alternative Investment Market as planned.

Tuanku Imran is co-founder of the Petra Group with local businessman Vinod Sekhar, whose father, the late BC Sekhar - a pioneer in the rubber industry and former chairman of Malaysian Rubber Research Development Board - invented the DeLink process.

The flamboyant Mr Sekhar counts megastar Mel Gibson - also a 'green rubber' investor - and Mr Clinton as friends. The former US president is scheduled to arrive in Malaysia today to present the inaugural Sekhar Memorial Lecture tomorrow.

Negative publicity surrounding the Petra Group could cast a pall over Mr Clinton's visit and cause some embarrassment, though Mr Sekhar told BT that he does not think this will happen because the problems are 'an internal issue'.

He said that the Willis suit was quickly dropped after the matter was resolved amicably, with the star's lawyer saying that there had been miscommunications. Willis remains a shareholder in the venture.

But some damage seems to have been done. Tuanku Imran told national news agency Bernama: 'I am resigning due to a number of reasons, the latest being the recent lawsuit brought against me and the Petra Group by Hollywood star Bruce Willis, alleging that I induced him to part with his money to invest in our green rubber project. I have never met Bruce Willis, let alone persuaded him to part with his money.'

The son of the current Yang DiPertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan, Tuanku Ja'afar Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman, said that his Petra Group roles were non-executive and he was often not updated on developments, including the Willis suit. 'This incident has brought acute embarrassment to my family, particularly to my royal parents,' he said. 'I feel that the time has come to say enough is enough.'

Nevertheless, Tuanku Ja'afar remains a significant shareholder in the green rubber venture, which he reckons has global potential if properly handled.

Mr Sekhar told BT that the listing of Elastomer has had to be put on hold until global markets stabilise. 'We are gearing up production and already supplying a few hundred tonnes of green rubber' to companies such as Timberland, he said.

He also said that he understood the lawsuit and media focus had embarrassed Tuanku Imran. 'But he's still a shareholder, he's still my best friend.'