Important to protect GLCs from political pressure

“However, it is important to stress that one of the key points of PH ascension to power was to strengthen the country’s institutions. It is important in the long run to strengthen the governance of GLCs and protect them from political changes and pressures,” said Oliveira who is also a a fellow at the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs.

On another hand, if the government were to shift the vision of how the GLCs should function, which is a complex issue, he said it needed to draft a vision and engage the society via public hearings, forums or parliamentary debate. From the feedback gathered, it must hire the right people to tackle the tasks at hand, he added.

“Ideally, recruit (the right people) through a system such as an independent search committee that ensure positions are filled by merit. If you are not changing the vision but just changing teams, it would be easier to replace,” he said.

De Oliveira said as Malaysia was getting closer towards having competitive elections involving changing coalition in the government, it would not helpful to have key state positions changing hands every time there was a change of government. He noted that the GLCs should be protected from political changes and pressures to enable them to become more focused in executing the policy priorities of the government in power.

On Friday, Dr Mahathir said the resignation of Khazanah managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar and the rest of the board members would enable the government to restructure the sovereign wealth fund accordingly.

Their resignation will “clear the deck to allow the government to restructure it” in line with policies of the new administration, he said, adding that the government was not on a witch-hunt. — Bernama