Time to put an end to political appointments, patronage at GLCs, says Bersih

KUALA LUMPUR: It is time to end political appointments and patronage in government-linked companies, says the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih).

In a statement on Thursday (May 25), the election watchdog’s steering committee questioned the need for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to perpetuate the practice of previous administrations by appointing politicians to government-linked companies.

Bersih also highlighted the recent appointment of Subang Jaya MP Wong Chen (pic) as non-executive chairman at Malaysia Debt Ventures Bhd (MDV), a state-owned enterprise.

"While we applaud Wong's self-imposed limits on his role in that he will not chair the board committees on risk management, remuneration, audit, and financing and investments to minimise any conflict of interest issues, we wonder if there is such a dearth of talents in our country that they must appoint Wong.

"We do not question his (Wong's) qualification or his ability to head such an enterprise.

"In fact, he has proven to be an able MP and has been appointed by his parliamentary colleagues to chair the important Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) on International Relations and Trade, as well as being the chair of the All Parties Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Political Financing.

"All these are on top of his primary role and duty as an elected MP and lawmaker for Subang," the statement read.

Bersih further stated that the move by Economy Minister Mohd Rafizi Ramli, who recently announced that qualified candidates should apply to be chief executive officers of two government-linked companies (GLC) under his ministry - Teraju and Yayasan Peneraju - should be emulated and legislated to be part of the new standard operating procedure for appointments to GLCs and statutory boards.

"While Wong was vetted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), such appointments should be vetted by the relevant Parliamentary Special Select Committees (PSSC).

"Elected representatives should be excluded as candidates for GLC positions, though exceptions could be made for key statutory bodies that oversee and direct government policies.

"The scrutiny by PSSCs will ensure that only qualified individuals are appointed to key positions in GLCs and statutory boards as these enterprises are custodians of public wealth, and not private businesses.

"The Prime Minister (Anwar) of this unity government must seize this opportunity to end the decades of political appointments and patronage that have in the past ended in corruption and mismanagement of these GLCs.

"Let the appointment process be open and transparent so that qualified Malaysians who want to serve their country through GLCs and statutory bodies can apply," it said.

Wong was appointed effective Tuesday (March 23) as the Special Select Committee on International Relations and Trade chairman and the Finance Ministry's non-executive chairman of MVD.

MDV is a state-owned enterprise providing financing facilities to the information and communications technology (ICT) sector.