Malaysia Takes Immediate Steps To Strengthen GLC, GLIC Governance -- PM Anwar
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian government is taking immediate steps to strengthen the governance of government-linked companies (GLCs) and government-linked investment companies (GLICs), including a proposal to introduce legislation governing state-owned entities, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said.
He said the proposed bill would establish clearer and stricter rules, including limits on the powers and responsibilities of those leading the entities.
“Past experience has shown both strengths and weaknesses. These issues have been documented in Royal Commissions of Inquiry (RCIs), task force reports and White Papers on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and Felda, as well as in cases involving Tabung Haji. The breaches were numerous and clearly excessive, making them difficult to defend,” he said during the Prime Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat.
He was responding to a supplementary question from Syahredzan Johan (DAP-Bangi) on measures to improve governance at GLCs, GLICs and statutory bodies to prevent a recurrence of scandals involving 1MDB and Tabung Haji.
Anwar said clear rules were also needed to regulate subsidiaries of government agencies.
He added that the government had not identified governance breaches in these companies on the scale of those previously seen at 1MDB and Tabung Haji.
Efforts to impose tighter controls and restrictions had faced strong resistance from political and business elites accustomed to the old ways, making political will essential to address the problem, he said.
“Governance must be strengthened, and the powers of those appointed to lead these entities must be clearly limited. They must be held accountable and must not treat these institutions as their personal or family property,” he said.
Earlier, Syahredzan had asked Anwar to explain the rationale for the involvement of government departments, GLICs, GLCs and statutory bodies in development projects, and how such involvement could accelerate solutions to public concerns without compromising the institutions’ core mandates and responsibilities.
Anwar said investments by GLICs and GLCs helped local companies expand and attract private investment from domestic and foreign investors.
He cited Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s Dana Impak, which has invested RM2.6 billion since its establishment in 2021.
One of the local companies backed by Khazanah was Farm Fresh Bhd, in which the sovereign wealth fund initially acquired a 30 per cent stake before the company went public at a valuation of RM2.5 billion.
Khazanah subsequently divested its stake after the company had established itself, Anwar said.
He added that Budget 2027 had allocated RM450 million through Jelawang Capital, Khazanah and the Retirement Fund Inc’s (KWAP) Dana Perintis to develop start-ups.
Meanwhile, Anwar stressed the need for more rigorous scrutiny of overseas investments to avoid a repeat of the experience involving the Battersea Power Station redevelopment project in Britain.
He said the initial investment in the project had been too high and had incurred losses, while efforts were under way to recover the investment.
He was responding to a supplementary question from Hassan Karim (PKR-Pasir Gudang) on the amount invested by GLCs and GLICs in the Battersea redevelopment in London and the benefits it had brought to Malaysia’s economy.
Anwar said institutions such as KWAP, Khazanah and Permodalan Nasional Bhd continued to seek investment opportunities both at home and abroad.
However, the government had prioritised domestic investments over the past three years, setting an initial target of at least 20 per cent of investments to be channelled into the country, he said.
The proportion would be increased according to the readiness and capacity of the institutions concerned, he added.
Anwar said most overseas investments had generated substantial returns, although some had incurred losses.
Commenting on KWAP’s investment in eFishery, he said the failed investment should not be taken as representative of the fund’s overall performance, noting that KWAP had recorded RM8 billion in profits.
-- BERNAMA
