Hyderabad, January 30:
Barely two days after Ramalinga Raju confessed to his fraud,
the Malaysian human resource minister S Subramaniam who was attending the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Chennai was compelled by the Malaysian press to make a statement on the Satyam issue. The minister restricted himself to say that how Raju's fraud was a great matter of concern for Malaysia.
the Malaysian human resource minister S Subramaniam who was attending the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Chennai was compelled by the Malaysian press to make a statement on the Satyam issue. The minister restricted himself to say that how Raju's fraud was a great matter of concern for Malaysia.
But if you are wondering why this pressure on a minister from Malaysia by his own local press on this matter, then don't be surprised: Ramalinga Raju's name in Malaysia is as well known as those of key businessmen and ministers there. The creator of jobs, the best paymaster and the man playing a key role in Malaysia's IT story, are among the many identities Raju has in the country.
Satyam associates who have visited Malaysia say they were surprised at how Raju's name commanded respect. "The government, the people, they all looked up to him. Raju was treated as god there,'' said a senior associate.
Raju's Malaysian connection is not a recent one. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahthir Mohammad visited the Satyam campus in Hyderabad in 2002. The next Prime Minister, Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi, followed suit in his appreciation of Raju, gracing occasions such as signing of agreements between the government and Raju with his presence.
"This is because Raju created a huge Satyam name there. He picked up the best SAP talent and Satyam was considered as a good paymaster,'' says a senior Satyam associate.
The Satyam founder famously recruited fresh graduates from over 20 universities in Malaysia and even carried out a nationwide plan to develop IT talent under the `Campus Link' programme, a government initiative there.
The Malaysian government had even given the firm various SOPs for the IT facility Raju was creating for the country. Small wonder then that ever since the news of Raju's fraud broke out, Malaysian newspapers have been following the developments very closely, reporting extensively on the issue much like the Indian media.
In February 2008, Satyam had announced that the firm would be setting a 15-acre campus in Cyberjaya, about 50 km south of Kuala Lumpur which would be the largest campus in Malaysia and would provide high end services to a range of customers. The firm already has an office in Cyberjaya.
Raju consistently maintained his commitment to the Malaysian community through Satyam's website and messages such as, "Satyam believes in nurturing local talent to catalyze IT progress in Malaysia''.
And barely two months before his inflated balance sheet confession, Raju acquired a software development centre of Motorola in Malaysia.
Apart from expanding Satyam's IT empire, Raju also found a `land' connect with Malaysians who share the same passion for land as Indians and this was possibly another reason why Raju connected with the country and its people so effortlessly, say industry observers. They say it is hardly surprising to find Ng Ching Meng's name figuring in the Income Tax department's list of individuals in the Satyam group as they speculate whether Ramalinga Raju could have used Ching Meng's local identity for land dealings there.
Not denying the possibility of any such arrangements some, however, observe that Ching Meng, who is country director with IJM (India) Infrastructure Limited, was perhaps only used for these dealings that were otherwise finalised by Krishnan Tang, head of the Malaysian multinational IJMII, that IJM is a subsidiary of.
"A position of country head in India means nothing for a firm like IJMII and the chief is expected to have not much authority. So it is hard to believe that Ching Meng could have been involved in any dealings with the Rajus independently. He probably was used as a dummy by Krishnan," said the head of an infrastructure firm in the city.