Guan Eng says resignation their own decision, and a smart move

KUALA LUMPUR: The decision by the entire Khazanah Nasional board of directors to resign was done on their own accord, according to Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, who also described it as a smart move.

Lim said he believed the decision was made to allow Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to name his own new line-up under the Pakatan Harapan administration.

“I think it is their own decision to leave, and I feel they want to give the prime minister a chance to make his own decisions in the direction of Khazanah, whether he wants to maintain with the board appointed by the previous government or appoint a new one.

“I think it id a smart move on their part to give this choice to the prime minister,” he told reporters when met at the Parliament lobby here yesterday.

On whether the matter was discussed or would be brought up in the coming Cabinet meeting, Lim said: “It was not discussed. This is their (board members) decision to leave.”

He added that it is now up to Mahathir to make the final decision on the new line,up considering he is the premier.

It is believed that Khazanah’s board’s resignation was in response to Mahathir’s recent criticism over the management of government-linked companies (GLCs) in the country.

He had previously said that although GLCs inevitably lose money, the salaries of their top executives were very high and they enjoyed these perks without bothering about the company’s profitability.