THE chairman of Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC), Michael Tien Puk-sun, agreed yesterday to continue in his post, ending a highly public dispute that has sullied the reputation of the Hong Kong government-owned rail company.

Tien tendered his resignation to the government Sunday, just days after a long-simmering conflict with KCRC staff and senior executives broke into the open with their circulation of a letter to the board attacking his management style.

KCRC management has in recent months come under public criticism itself over a lack of transparency, following several safety incidents involving its trains that were not immediately reported to authorities.

The KCRC protest was seen as an attempt by staff to resist changes Tien was trying to push through in the wake of the incidents, but the dispute ended with the government backing Tien.

“I am always in support of a high sense of accountability and high degree of transparency in the operation of a public entity such as the KCRC,” Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang told reporters Wednesday. “And in this regard, the chairman receives my support.”

Tsang said Tien had withdrawn his resignation after the board of KCRC agreed to resolve some questions over the precise division of responsibilities between the chairman and chief executive. The acting chief executive, Samuel Lai, who has spent his career with the KCRC, had written the letter criticizing Tien, a businessman with a background in apparel.

Tsang also said he had discovered some unspecified, but “very serious,” disciplinary and personnel issues in recent days’ discussions about the dispute between Tien and senior management, and has asked the board to look into them.

The management debacle has come at a sensitive time for the KCRC, which is believed to be close to concluding negotiations over a proposed merger with fellow urban rail operator MTR Corporation. MTR is 77 percent owned by the government but is a public company listed on the stock exchange, while the KCRC remains wholly government-owned. (SD-Agencies)