What triggered the public feud between the Kwek father and son?

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The Public Feud Between Kwek Leng Beng and His Son Sherman Kwek Was Triggered by Board Appointments

The public dispute between Kwek Leng Beng, the executive chairman of City Developments Ltd (CDL), and his son Sherman Kwek, the company's CEO, was ignited by Sherman Kwek's move to appoint two additional directors to the CDL Group's board. Kwek Leng Beng publicly accused this action of being an "attempted coup at the board level" aimed at consolidating control, leading him to file a lawsuit and obtain a court order to halt these changes. Sherman Kwek, in turn, denied any attempt to oust his father, labelling the lawsuit an "ambush" and attributing the underlying tension to alleged interference in company affairs by Catherine Wu, a board adviser to a CDL subsidiary.
Allegations of Boardroom Power Grab

Kwek Leng Beng alleged that the appointment of two new directors by Sherman Kwek and the majority of the board was a manoeuvre to "consolidate control of the Board" and CDL. To counter this perceived power grab, the elder Kwek initiated legal proceedings, securing a court order that effectively blocked the proposed changes to the company's board and management structure. This legal intervention marked a significant escalation of the conflict, bringing the private boardroom dispute into the public domain.
Sherman Kwek's Counter-Allegations and Denials

Sherman Kwek refuted his father's claims, stating that there was "no attempt by us to oust the chairman." He characterised his father's legal action as an "ambush" and instead pointed to Catherine Wu as a source of discord. According to Sherman Kwek, Wu, a board adviser to a CDL subsidiary, was allegedly interfering in company matters beyond her remit and wielding considerable influence, which had caused concern among directors.
Previous Disagreements Over Performance and Governance

The current dispute is not the first instance of significant disagreement between father and son regarding CDL's leadership. Earlier in February, Kwek Leng Beng had sought Sherman Kwek's dismissal as CEO, citing a series of perceived missteps. These included a substantial US$1.4 billion loss in 2020, reportedly poor investment decisions in the UK, and the underperformance of CDL's share price since Sherman assumed leadership in 2018. Kwek Leng Beng emphasized that while business mistakes are understandable, circumventing corporate governance laws represented a "red line."
Concerns Over Destabilisation and Legacy

Kwek Leng Beng expressed that his son's actions were "reckless power grabs" that threatened to destabilise the company. He stated that the stakes were too high to allow such actions to jeopardise the company's stability. He also alluded to preserving the legacy of CDL, which he and his family have built over decades, as a key motivation for his fight against what he described as a faction seeking to consolidate unchecked control, undermining the company's governance foundations.

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What triggered the public feud between the Kwek father and son?

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