It is reported to Sri Lanka Mirror that shareholders of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) have expressed opposition to the appointment of Dr Motilal de Silva as Chairman of the company through an online Annual General Meeting (AGM), breaking with the practice that had been followed up to now.Previously, SLT shareholders had also held a press conference to oppose the decision to conduct the AGM online and had informed the President of their concerns. Their principal objection to Dr de Silva’s appointment is that he is now 70 years old (date of birth: 11 May 1956).The Government of Sri Lanka (through the Secretary to the Treasury) holds a majority stake of 50.23% in Sri Lanka Telecom, while the second-largest shareholder, Global Telecommunications Holdings N.V., owns 44.98% of the company’s shares.The remaining 4.79% is held by other institutional and public shareholders.

Meanwhile, Chan Chee Beng, who has been nominated by Global Telecommunications Holdings N.V. to represent its shareholding, is also over 70 years of age.He has represented the shareholder on the company’s Board of Directors since 2008 and has served as a director for nine years.It is also reported that Nihal Fonseka, another member of the Board, is over 70 years old.However, shareholders claim that the Board of Directors of Sri Lanka Telecom had not made a decision to hold the AGM online. They further state that the meeting had previously been scheduled to take place at the Ramada Hotel.The Sri Lanka Telecom Board comprises nine members. The other directors are Suren J. Amarasekera, Chandrasiri Kalupahana, T. M. Thilakaratne, Neil D. B. Unambuwa, A. N. Hapugala, and Raghavendra Madhav.