See also earlier related post:-
Of Directorship, Peoples Reps, PKR-DAP, Penang Land Reclamation, Corruption, Similarities with BN, ALTERNATIVE 'Opposition'???
MEDIA STATEMENT
25 FEBRUARY 2016
ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES SHOULD HOLD NO PLACE IN GLCs.
TIME FOR A REAL PARADIGM SHIFT
The recent
furore involving the sacking of the PKR duo from the Penang GLCs Kebun Bunga assemblyman Cheah Kah Peng and Bukit Tengah
assemblyman Ong Chin Wen from the boards of the Penang Hill Corporation, and InvestPenang
and Island Golf Properties Bhd, respectively, has kicked up a storm that could
have been avoided if there were good corporate governance measures disallowing
elected representatives from partaking in the work of government linked
companies (GLC) .
This
statement however, aspires not to take sides nor play judge on who is right or
wrong. Instead we at the Centre to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4) view with
alarm the brand of factionalised politics – where elected representatives vote
solely according to fraternity, thus diagnosing a severe lack in independence
(on both sides of the divide) amongst the officials we elect to represent our
needs and rights. This as we know is a prevalent practice in parliament, with the
most recent example, being the vote on the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement
(TPP).
What
concerns us further is that this episode has raised a number of pertinent
questions that ought to be answered by the political leadership at the State
and Federal levels, on the real roles that GLCs play in the administration, its
policies on governance, mode of operations, and financial accountability
measures.
Should
elected representatives and politically active individuals (even at the branch
level) be rightful candidates appointed as directors of top management of GLCs?
How will political connections play out? Will these GLCs compromise
professional and impartial decision making if pressured? Of course there can be
exceptions on very rare occasions where a particular politician’s professional
expertise could be of immense value to a particular field, and hence his / her
appointment could be explained and justified. But this should be the exception
rather than the norm. The issue of conflict of interest must be clearly
checked, for any which way it is plainly wrong.
It must be
emphasised that the role of an elected representative, and primary
responsibility is to serve his / her constituents, must be accountable to the
people first and foremost, and should not involve in any business, commercial
or any activities otherwise deemed detrimental, and one that could contradict
the needs and aspirations of the people they represent.
Malaysia’s
GLCs, have, in the past, been cited as among the most extensive and powerful in
the world in terms of capitalisation, market presence and socio-political
mandate – comprising more than 30 percent of the Malaysian stock exchange’s
capitalisation. There are a multitude of issues that arise from the hiring of
politically connected individuals to govern these critical entities, including
the transparency of their appointment, their qualification for the responsibilities, (perceived) independence, and the risk of
acting as political proxies, amongst others.
In line
with the government’s GLC transformation programme, GLCs need to be devolved
and privatised at a quicker rate, and allowed to appoint the most qualified and
suitable candidates for their Board of directors and Top Management.
Further
feuds and vengeful politics could be minimised in the future through the
reduction of politically influenced individuals directing state-owned
enterprises.
Perhaps
some good will come out this feud, where an opportunity to restructure and for
a real paradigm shift in Malaysia to allow for genuine transformation of
governance in governments.
Released By
The C4 Board of Directors
Tan Sri
SImpon Sipaun – Chairman
Cynthia
Gabriel – Executive Director
Richard
Yeoh
Dato’ Dr
Ahmad Farouk Musa
Professor
Zaharom Nain
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