SHAH ALAM - An independent government-linked company (GLC) commission should be set up by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to ensure checks and balances on political appointees in GLCs.
Professor Dr Edmund Terence Gomez said GLC appointments must be done in a transparent and accountable manner.
He was commenting on the government’s Dubbed Perkukuh Pelaburan Rakyat (Perkukuh) initiative to reform GLCs, where RM6 billion was allocated for the plan.
This, he said showed how important government-linked investment companies (GLIC) like the Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP), Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Khazanah Nasional among others were.
"What happened to all the money and reforms? And this brings to what Anwar has just announced.
"My concerns are, why is he limiting it to only GLCs under the Finance Ministry, why not all GLCs under different ministries?.
"My other point is why is there no mention about the selection process of new appointees? We already know that the selection process is problematic and Anwar confirmed that politicians may be appointed to some GLCs.
"There is no problem with that, it is true that we may need politicians in some GLCs depending on the nature of the GLC.
"This brings us to the important point, if the Prime Minister is saying that there may be political appointees in the GLCs, including under his administration, then he must put in place a system to ensure that these appointments are done in a transparent and accountable manner,” he said during Sinar Daily's Wacana programme entitled "Malaysia 2022: Braving Chaos and Disaster”, last night.
He added that in the long run, there should be a GLC Act.
Gomez also questioned why Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki's case was not being addressed.
"Pakatan Harapan mentioned clearly in their manifesto that they want to tackle corruption, it is really an issue we must tackle quickly.
"However, when Azam’s case came up, it exposes the institution primarily responsible for tackling corruption.
"There were serious allegations of corruption against the chief commissioner and the issue must be tackled immediately," he said.
He also said the previous government led by Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob failed to tackle the issue and instead they procrastinated and hesitated to act which showed ignorance of the government in combatting corruption.
"The advisory board which was supposed to take action did not act firmly, in fact at one point they distanced themselves from the commissioner.
"Azam did not appear in Parliament to defend himself.
"So shouldn't the government take action against him immediately, put him on guarded leave, tell him to defend himself?," he said.