Who’s in and who’s out?

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, has set off a wave of boardroom changes at state-owned institutions and corporations.

SINCE coming into power in March, the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, led by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, has set off a wave of boardroom changes at state-owned institutions and corporations.

Among the organisations that have already seen changes taking place are Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara), Felcra Bhd, Social Security Organisation (Socso), and the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB).

At Khazanah, for instance, Muhyiddin has taken over as chairman since April 1, exactly one month after being sworn in as Malaysia’s eighth premier.

He replaced former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who had to relinquish that position after the fall of his ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition government in late February.

Concurrently, new Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz was also appointed to the board of Khazanah.

In the coming days, other key state agencies, government-linked companies (GLCs) and government-linked investment companies (GLICs) are also expected to see changes in their chairmanship.

The shuffling of the ins and outs do appear to be picking up steam with Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar returning to the corporate world following his appointment as BURSA MALAYSIA BHD’s non-executive chairman with effect from May 1.

He succeeds Datuk Shireen Ann Zaharah Muhiudeen.

Furthermore, Klang MP Charles Santiago was removed as chairman of the National Water Service Commission (SPAN) on April 10 but the removal was made public yesterday.

Dungun MP Wan Hassan Mohd Ramli will replace him.

There has been widespread speculation of the imminent changes at the top GLCs, with many MPs slated to take over as chairmen of some of the plum GLCs in the country.

Although it remains conjecture at this point, checks by StarBizWeek have revealed that not all are correct.

A few existing MPs have turned down the suggested appointments.

Meanwhile, for positions that have already been vacated, Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun has been touted as the new Mara chairman.

This is to replace Dr Hasnita Hashim, who was sacked as Mara chairman on March 18, together with her entire board members, comprising economist Dr Nungsari Ahmad Radhi and businessman Datuk Wira Ameer Ali Mydin, among others.

At Felcra, Datuk Shabudin Yahaya is expected to become chairman, following the resignation of Datuk Nageeb Wahab early this month.

As for Socso, Sabak Bernam MP Datuk Mohd Fasiah Mohd Fakeh has initially been named as the likely person to take over as chairman after the recent resignation of Zakri Khir, a professional from the insurance industry.

However, Mohd Fasiah’s proposed appointment has hit a stumbling block, as Socso is guided by a rule that prevents politicians from becoming its chairman.

Malaysians will surely be following closely developments in this space.