Tan Sri Johan Jaaffar has announced his resignation as Media Prima Berhad (MPB) chairman effective 31 August.

“I would like to make it clear that I am not in any manner under pressure to leave,” he said in a statement issued this evening.

Alluding to a possible reason behind the decision, Johan said that as Chairman of the Consultation and Prevention Panel (CCPP), one of the independent external oversight panels monitoring the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC), he had been vocal in voicing the Panel’s position on various issues.

"I have been vocal in articulating the Panel’s position on various issues, most notably the case against the perceived harassment of MACC and its officers and the circumstance surrounding the transfer of the two senior MACC officers to Putrajaya," he said.

He also said he would remain as CCPP Chairman and will continue to speak on its behalf justly and without fear and favour.

Johan will be replaced by deputy chairman Datuk Seri Fateh Iskandar Mohamed Mansor, according to a filing from MPB to Bursa Malaysia.

READ: Two statements by Tan Sri Johan Jaafar