Lotus CEO Dany Bahar suspended over his “conduct”

Lotus CEO Dany Bahar suspended over his “conduct”

Dany Bahar has been suspended from his job as head of Group Lotus, a subsidiary of Proton. The temporary suspension is to facilitate an investigation into a complaint about the ex-Ferrari employee’s conduct, according to Proton’s new owner DRB-Hicom.

“Group Lotus plc (“Lotus”) can today confirm that, following an operational review, chief executive Dany Bahar has been temporarily suspended from his role to facilitate an investigation into a complaint about his conduct made by Lotus’ penultimate parent company, DRB-Hicom Berhad,” the Malaysian company said in a statement.

“The penultimate holding company would like to stress it is business as usual at Lotus. We fully support the company and will continue to support Lotus in its business endeavours and development,” a DRB spokesman told Norwich Evening News.

Lotus CEO Dany Bahar suspended over his “conduct”

Bahar pictured here with Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin. Is DRB performing a clear out?

The statement from DRB confirms speculation about Bahar’s future that arose after he missed appointments at the ongoing Monaco GP weekend (a Lotus Originals store opening, among others). Word went around that the flamboyant Turkish-Swiss was instead summoned to Malaysia, where he was told about the suspension.

With Bahar out of the frame, for now, DRB-Hicom has appointed internal people Datuk Lukman Ibrahim, Mohd Khalid Yusof and Aslam Farikulla to be in charge of Lotus, assisted by current CFO Rusman Zaihan. No official statement on the alleged misconduct by Bahar, so your guess is as good as ours.

Lotus CEO Dany Bahar suspended over his “conduct”

Dany Bahar joined Lotus from Ferrari in late 2009, famously crafting an ambitious five-year plan for the loss-making company. This plan surfaced at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, where Lotus wheeled out five concept cars in a spectacular show. We witnessed that landmark moment – click here to read all about the plan, and the concepts.

Bahar signed a fresh four-year contract with Proton in December last year, just before the national carmaker was sold to DRB-Hicom. His original contract expires this year.

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • YEAY!

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    • Gabla on May 27, 2012 at 7:02 am

      DRB must remember that this is not in Malaysia. I smell lawsuit coming soon from Bahar in UK. Employment law is not the same in UK like in Malaysia.

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      • Ferrari Conman on May 28, 2012 at 8:42 am

        On Ferrari employee conduct, is it Ferrari Malaysia? Cause Ferrari Malaysia must do something about one of their ex employees who goes around using their name to cheat and con people. Capitalising on Naza’s good name, this conman goes around trying to cheat people into buying non existent discounted Apple products. Hundreds of people have been conned and they are mad with Naza Italia. In actual fact, poor Naza has nothing to do about it. Naza, pls try to catch this conman before they tarnish your name and cheat so many people in Malaysia!

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  • kimi's fan on May 26, 2012 at 5:50 pm

    1st thing pop out from my mind…is this the tactic of DRB to grab all the roles in lotus operation ?

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    • Unforgiven on May 26, 2012 at 6:39 pm

      Something is very wrong with those mind set, please don’t be too proud…

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  • good on you Dany..**clap~clap**

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  • nabill on May 26, 2012 at 6:55 pm

    Wtf…. Thy should explain exactly wat he did that thy classified as a misconsuct…otherwise everyone will assume that thy kicked him out to get some msian guy to takeover regardless whether hes crap or an idiot….

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    • udasalleh on May 26, 2012 at 7:53 pm

      Agree with u. A suspension should be given while investigations are ongoing for a misconduct that is criminal in nature. They need to clarify if they don’t want people to speculate.

      They’re pushing DSZ out to put in DRB man… n now it smells like they’re trying to put DRB man in control of Lotus. With DSZ out… I’m very sceptical of P1’s future. Sorry DRB dudes but u guys suck bigtime!

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    • Ayecaramba! on May 26, 2012 at 10:12 pm

      Exactly. They should give a valid and official reason why he is temporarily suspended. I smell something fishy going on. Bahar may not have been a really good leader during his tenure in Lotus but I bet the three people replacing him and may even replace the other top executives in Lotus won’t do a better job than Bahar’s team. I even bet Lotus might even get worse with the new CEOs. With these new people at the helms, I don’t see a better future. Please la, DRB, you’re ruining things for the benefits of the few top people. For me, you’re the same as the previous owners of Proton. Government or not, different faces, same shit.

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  • DewaSemut on May 26, 2012 at 6:57 pm

    From sniffpetrol.com

    “A message from Dany Bahaha”

    by Dany Bahaha on Friday, May 25th, 2012

    Hello believers,

    By now you will have heard news of my “suspension” from Lotus. Let me assure you that this is nothing to concern you. I decided to suspend myself from the company for reasons that I have not thought of yet. I wanted this just as I wanted to withdraw from those Indycar teams and stop paying for F1, also for reasons I cannot share with you until I have thought of them.

    Sometimes, the only way you can grow a premium lifestyle optimum lifestyle upscale lifestyle brand is by looking at it from afar, such as from outside the factory gates standing next to a box of your own possessions whilst waiting for a taxi.

    I have been touched by the messages of support I am certain you have sent though for some reason they have not yet reached me. Those of you with diseases, I will cure you in time. For now I need you to think positive thoughts about Lotus. I also need you to send me money. Non-sequential high denomination bills, plain envelope, the usual deal. It is not cheap to have hair that looks this good.

    Keep drinking the Kool-Aid.

    The Reverend Sun Myung Dany Bahar

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  • GT Fan on May 26, 2012 at 8:52 pm

    Danny was smart enough to renew his contract before the DRB bought Proton. Probably he knew that the clowns in DRB will throw him and DSZ out. If they sack him, then they have to pay Danny lots of $$$ unless they have proof that he was criminally negligent.

    Quite sad because Lotus is doing very well in F1 and its name is getting more popular in the motoring press.

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    • ignoramus on May 26, 2012 at 9:47 pm

      Ha ha.. I don’t you have any idea whats happening

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    • Doing well in F1? What did Lotus do for the F1 other than everything sources from Renault? Answer : Finance

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      • GT Fan on May 27, 2012 at 4:44 pm

        Yes, I know they paid money to put their name on the Lotus F1 team but it is a top team not a loser no points team. They already got on the podium TWICE this season and they are currently third in overall points ahead of Ferrari and Mercedes. That is a very savvy marketing triumph on the part of Group Lotus. And it will translate into better car sales at the showroom.

        Lotus makes very good sports cars but they need the glamor of racing to compete against formidable rivals such as Porsche and Ferrari.

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  • Lotus will lose money as long as under Potong, what Potong can offer Lotus?? Platforms?? U need sugardaddies like Volkswagen etc with tons of platforms for Lotus to use to build and design new models….other than that this is another case of ” syiok sendiri oh i own Lotus”…Small car manufactururs dont have the platform nor engine etc to offer eg last time Indonesian company owned Lamborghini and did Lamborghini came out with any new model?? Only after sold to Volkwagen group that it flourish…As for Potong, do u think people will line up to buy a Rm1 million rinngit car with Campro engine? Wake up!

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    • if you are malaysian, please learn the right way to spell proton, not potong. protongkat, protong. if you wrote like this, it just showed your stupidness regardless how smart your comment is

      campro engine? oh that’s years before you were born kid, now is CFE , i believe you even don’t know how to write it right, lol.

      go and ask your fa ma ok?

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      • Annaeh on Jun 01, 2012 at 9:28 pm

        Hear, hear, agree with kkjo. Not everyone are Proton fanboys but to hate and stoop to the level of childish insults is quite pathetic.

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  • “Penultimate” means the next to last or next to most recent — not the current owner.

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  • be sensible on May 26, 2012 at 10:34 pm

    why drb hicom wants to change everything…is the existing lotus management not good enough, need new blood to turnaround the co. what happen is that lotus products are for the elusive one. when could we see a truly lotus-engineered sports car made for the masses…just like the vw golf.

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  • Best decision from DRB-HICOM so far! It’s about time this arrogant asswipe got what he deserved.

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  • currently, this is the best suspension from lotus

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  • well, since he just signed a new contract, i bet there’s a clause saying he’ll be compensated if he gets fired etc..

    so a “suspension” is just taking him off his job, while still not officially firing him.

    So he’ll stop bankrupting lotus, and possibly DRB to.

    good riddance

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  • Kimi Beemer on May 27, 2012 at 12:19 am

    Look at lotus in msia as well.Decide faster so that biawak hidup will be kicked asap

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    • Exige 2ZZ on May 28, 2012 at 11:13 pm

      Yeah.u may keep lotus until esprit is out.then just sell it.dont let all monkey island to suck our money.bring korean/german in to teach them how to do work and walk the talk

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  • RedBeanBun on May 27, 2012 at 1:45 am

    its a messed!

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  • Now that Proton has gone into private hands, lets all not being sentimental anymore. After all, the company now IS already being run like their own father’s company.

    Lets all be sentimental about roads, trees and landscaping done by DBKL. They still belong to the public.

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  • SeriuossSAM on May 27, 2012 at 10:39 am

    DRB should just kick this Ferrari wannabe delusional man out for good before he drain more money from PROTON for his personal delusional ambition.

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  • Dr Mamak on May 27, 2012 at 10:50 am

    I told you so. Lotus has always been a grave liability. Anyways, good riddance!

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    • Ayecaramba! on May 28, 2012 at 9:30 pm

      And you think our datuks replacing the top team in Lotus will make it better? Wow. You’re good. I wouldn’t say Lotus being a grave liability. With good management and greater investments, I can see Lotus being as dominant as Lamborghini in the supercar realms. Firstly, Lotus shouldn’t have been bought because Proton isn’t secured both financially and technologically to nurture Lotus. We bought Lotus because of pride and stupidity. Or, because of some hanky panky. Who knows. Unless we’re VW or JLR or the sort, why bother buying Lotus? Lotus can only benefit us if we have BIG initials or capitals but our Proton people still went ahead. Now this problem arises, they’re nowhere to be found. Nice. I like that. Remember, Proton was government linked before. Now, you do the math.

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  • Black Dog on May 27, 2012 at 12:29 pm

    He thought that renewing his contract way before it expires is gonna be safe, but this is bolehland, all sorts of crap can be cook up to get rid of him. His next step might be to sue DRB from UK?

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  • The Enthusiast on May 27, 2012 at 2:07 pm

    Given his recent “losing it” incident, it is sort of expected.

    P/s: Love the updated look of the website. Bigger pics = awesome content.

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  • If DRB kicks out Danny and replaced with someone with good credentials in the world auto industry then Lotus still stand a chance. Perhaps Carlos Ghosn?

    But if replaced with some local guy just because of connection then kiss Lotus goodbye.

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    • Gabla on May 27, 2012 at 10:13 pm

      DRB can’t even afford to hire the top man at Dacia, so forget about Carlos Ghosn.

      Based on the annual reports for last year, DRB-Hicom has less revenue compared to Proton Holdings. The report for this year has not been published yet.

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    • idiooot on May 29, 2012 at 8:17 pm

      carlos ghosn?? that guy is a legend! he would be an indiot to join this troubling politicking company!

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  • kaminski on May 27, 2012 at 6:07 pm

    If Bahar does eventually lose his job and DRB Hicom are serious enough about turning around Lotus, then Gordon Murray is probably the man for the job, an excellent engineer, comes with great experience including time at McLaren and of course, his own design company and innovative iStream assembley process.DRB and Lotus would seriously benefit from having this guy on their books

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    • kaminski on May 27, 2012 at 6:16 pm

      By the way, the new look is much fresher, well done guys

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    • Ayecaramba! on May 28, 2012 at 9:36 pm

      I like your thinking. Reason being Gordon Murray has to be one of the best Automotive engineers to date that I have known. But with DRB monitoring things, would you think Gordon’ll agree with working in Lotus? Also, $$$$$$$. He is good but he is expensive. He has his own company too. I bet he has enough headaches and furthermore, with his own company. He has freedom. He loves freedom which made him quit Mclaren even with a good paycheque. That is what I call passion. But all in all, I still like your thinking.

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  • cube_monkey on May 27, 2012 at 9:40 pm

    Hopefully is really an issue with Danny and not because of silly politic that DRB-Hicom play to put their crony into Lotus.

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  • jay8393 on May 27, 2012 at 10:42 pm

    It’s a bit ridiculous for DRB-Hicom to suspend him without giving a valid reason. Suspend him from what? Spending too much of Proton’s money on Lotus? Now I’m more worried about the new Esprit not getting the green light for production. Don’t be surprised if the idiots at DRB-Hicom decides to come out with a statement in the next few weeks that says “No new Lotus car for the next 5 years”.

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  • Common sensor on May 27, 2012 at 10:45 pm

    Proton is almost 100% owned by DRB. DRB can do anything without having to refer to anyone .. Let them do the thing they think best for the company, it none of your f***k*** business ..

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  • sparky on May 27, 2012 at 11:51 pm

    of COURSE DRB-HICOM can run Lotus better than Danny Bahar can!!!

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  • Instead of promote Lotus cars in Singapore F1 GP last year, they put bigger the signboard for Proton products.

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  • Jaybond on May 28, 2012 at 9:03 am

    While Lotus desperately needs new model line up,the new Esprit won’t be a volume seller for sure. A replacement for the ageing Elise should be the next priority to get that volume.

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  • seriousdude on May 28, 2012 at 9:19 am

    danny pocketed some $ for the use of lotus name by both Tony Fernandez & Renault F1 team ^^

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  • Johnny on May 28, 2012 at 9:46 am

    There’s definitely a conspiracy going on around here…

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  • daamz on May 28, 2012 at 12:20 pm

    hahaha.. Lotus is rebuild by Malaysian money when P1 was under Khazanah.. Now under private but still very pity to malaysian (and myself)… 0 benefit for me.

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  • Telegraph UK shed some light on this issue. Read it at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/9293144/Lotus-boss-quizzed-over-expense-claims.html

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  • Wisdom on May 28, 2012 at 3:46 pm

    Too much politics.

    What Lotus need now is focus and build those cars they promised.

    Otherwise, just change your portfolio to entertainment business.

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  • vrmchris on May 29, 2012 at 2:06 am

    hello to all.

    from the limited information available, it seems that they are suspending mr. bahar for questionable personal expenditures charged to lotus.

    but to replace him with 3 executives from drb-hicom? that is even more troubling imho.

    question for you in malaysia. i am in america watching this with some interest. does drb-hicom have the financial resources available to have proton and lotus truly compete on the world stage? or just be merely bit players?

    i do know that drb-hicom is a conglomerate in 3 distinct businesses. but do they have someone in their ranks who at least likes cars who is a passionate, knowledgeable person for proton and lotus.

    if mr. bahar is replaced, who could succeed him capably? i believe that whether mr. bahar is ceo or not, drb-hicom has bit off a lot more than they can chew. proton and lotus are going to require multiple billions or ringgit (or dollars in my case) and capable executives to set them right for the world stage. otherwise proton and lotus (especially proton) will continue to be seen as a bad national joke beset by cronyism.

    regards,
    vrmchris

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    • jay8393 on May 29, 2012 at 7:38 pm

      You, sir, truly understand the whole situation. People around here are bashing Lotus and Danny Bahar because the company is owned by Proton, and I’m a little disappointed that the people in Malaysia is still bashing Proton eventhough they have improved by leaps and bounds from a few years ago.

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