Bersih welcomes Umno resignations, calls for GLC appointments reform

 

Electoral watchdog Bersih has warned the abuse of government-linked companies (GLCs) can lead to disastrous impacts on their functioning as well as the political stability in the country.

In a statement released by its steering committee today, it called on the PN government to stop using GLC positions as a political tool to consolidate power and induce crossovers of elected representatives.

“Such abuse of GLCs and political patronage breeds corruption and cronyism, often at the expense of the effective functioning of the GLCs with appointments to GLC positions not based on merit, as in the case of former Prasarana chairperson Tajuddin Abdul Rahman.”

Bersih said this in welcoming the resignation of Umno’s Mohamed Khaled Nordin and Razlan Rafii from their GLCs posts recently but added it fears the vacancies they left behind will be used by embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to fish for political support. 

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin

“While the resignation of the two Umno politicians may be an act of protest again the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, we are afraid their protest will be futile as the vacancy that they left behind will be quickly used by PN to win over other potential supporters to hold on to power while being a minority government,” it said.

Calling a stop to the abuse of GLCs, the coalition wants the government to introduce a GLCs appointment law which would allow bi-partisan screening of appointees in the Parliamentary Select Committees, as well as banning elected officials from holding GLCs positions.

“The law should also compel all GLCs to enhance disclosure and transparency through periodic reports that should include important information such as the appointment of chairperson and directors, their remuneration, etc,” Bersih added.

A string of Umno leaders left their ministerial and GLC posts amid political turmoil in Putrajaya this past week.

However, a defiant Muhyiddin refused to resign as prime minister despite numbers seeming to indicate he had lost majority support in Parliament.  - Mkini