The share price of Harvest Court Industries Bhd plunged to the 30 percent limit-down level this morning, after its star shareholder - the prime minister’s second son Mohd Nazifuddin Najib - resigned as director yesterday.

azlan The shares tumbled to 98 sen when trading resumed at 9am today, dropping 42 sen from yesterday’s RM1.40.

In an announcement on the Bursa Malaysia website late yesterday, Nazifuddin was reported to have resigned as non-executive director as part of Harvest’s ‘change in boardroom’.

The announcement also said Nazifuddin still has 3,982,000 ordinary shares in the company, or about 1.7 percent of the total shares.

In an interview with StarBiz published today, Nazifuddin and his business partner Raymond Chan said they would not exit from the timber-processing company in the next "two to three years".

“We did not sell during the euphoria. I kept my 15.7 percent and he (Nazifuddin) kept his 2.2 percent. We will stay put and will not quit,” Chan is quoted as saying.

“We do not want people to think that we will pocket gains and hive off our stakes in Harvest. We do not want people to create any stories and hype over the share price.

NONE “We will not exit in the near future, which is two to three years, as we are here to do genuine business.”

Nazifuddin (right) said the ceaseless speculation over the stock had prompted him to step down from the board.

Both claimed they were puzzled over the Harvest share price escalation.

“We do not want to be seen as someone driving the market towards speculation, or enticing people to over-speculate on the counter. We are genuine; we want to restructure the company and grow it. I decided quite recently to step down,” Nazifuddin said.

Buzz around Harvest

Harvest shares had continued to climb yesterday, to RM1.56, with 1.1 million shares transacted, making it one of the top gainers after a slide over the past two days.

Nazifuddin and Harvest have been at the centre of buzz after it was first reported that the company’s share price had risen to an 11-year high following his appointment to the board of directors last month.

The share price hit RM2.14 last Monday, which was 2,575 percent more than the 8sen registered in October.

The next day, Harvest was declared 'designated securities' by Bursa Malaysia and suspended for the day" due to excessive speculation in the trading of both securities".

Nazifuddin, 28, is the second son of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his first wife Tengku Puteri Zainah Tengku Eskandar.

The couple divorced in 1987, following which Najib married Rosmah Mansor.

NONE Chan (left) , a businessman who is active in Sabah, owns substantial shares in Sagajuta (Sabah) Sdn Bhd, which developed the 1Borneo mall in Kota Kinabalu.

Nazifuddin is chairperson of Sagajuta.

The Bursa Malaysia's announcement posted yesterday stated that Nazifuddin also holds the chair of 1Green Enviro Sdn Bhd, Magna Healthcare Sdn Bhd, Cahaya Pedoman Sdn Bhd and Tribus Sdn Bhd.

He is a director of Kingtime International Ltd and Dynac Sdn Bhd.

In addition, Nazifuddin is the chairperson of Youth on Unity, a NGO operated by Pertubuhan Pembangunan Inovasi Dan Integrasi Selangor dan Kuala Lumpur, to develop youth and spur unity among them.