In February 2009, the then transport minister Ong Tee Keat made public the findings of an independent report on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
The report was scathing. Among others, fingers were pointed at previous boards of directors, some of whom had served for several terms, and were sighted for failing to exercise oversight and adequate governance over the implementation of the project.
When former Port Authority of Klang (PKA) general manager M Rajasingam, who was then a member of the board, proposed that action be taken against previous directors of the Port Klang Authority for dereliction of fiduciary duties, the board deferred its decision.
The representative from the Transport Ministry had argued that it needed “clearance” from the minister. So much for independent boards!
When the resolution was put to the board the following year, although Rajasingam was not re-appointed, it was supported by the then chairperson, Lee Hwa Beng, and another member.
Others, including the general manager, had objected. For obvious reasons, Lee was not re-appointed.
This episode recapitulates the need for independent boards in statutory agencies - free of political influence. But year after year, the minister chooses to have members of his party helm the board.
It is not that we are short of competent, experienced, and knowledgeable people but for a long time, party leaders have used these posts to reward supporters.
In 2018, when the Pakatan Harapan government was in place, some of the positions in government agencies were decided by the “council of eminent persons” but most positions were left to the respective ministers and it saw the return of political appointees.
When the back-door government took over in 2020, a new set of directors were appointed and used to reward MPs and party stalwarts by former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and it was no secret that it was a reward to buy loyalty.
In an audio recording that was made public, a man whose voice resembles that of Muhyiddin was heard saying that Umno MPs can be enticed to join Bersatu if they are offered ministerships or posts in government-linked bodies.
“Especially if there are positions. If not a minister, then chairperson of a GLC,” he was heard saying.
Local think-tank Ideas, through its Pantau Kuasa initiative, had noted 234 appointments in federal statutory bodies from August 2021 to September this year, of which, 119 were new while 115 were retained from the previous government led by Muhyiddin.
Umno dominated the number of politicians retained in federal statutory bodies with 52, while Bersatu had 28 appointments, and PAS 11.
More than half of the new appointments were from Umno (61), followed by Bersatu (19), Parti Bangsa Malaysia (15), PAS (seven) and MCA (five).
At the state level, the government owns or has interests in many companies and political appointees sit on the boards.
In at least one case, a government body decided to have its monthly meeting in Sarawak where the minister was contesting. The head honcho also bought a car and had it shipped over so for the minister’s use.
Therefore, the announcement by the government on Thursday to terminate the contracts of all political appointees in government-linked companies (GLC), government-linked investment companies (GLIC), statutory bodies, and Ministry of Finance Inc companies must be welcomed.
The Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Zuki Ali directed all ministries' chief secretaries to implement the directive from the Prime Minister’s Department with immediate effect.
It is long overdue because most of them were only answerable to the respective ministers who usually do not set KPIs - leaving these bodies to carry out activities (and spend money) without being accountable.
But will it be the same, or would the Anwar Ibrahim government do something different by appointing the right people to the posts?
While it would be wrong to paint everyone with the same brush, there are some political appointees who had done their jobs professionally.
But since this order is a blanket and across-the-board directive, it will be a pity to see them go.
But before that, like the independent report on PKFZ, shouldn’t there be a complete audit of some of the bigger GLCs whose turnover runs into millions if not billions?
The appointment of competent and qualified people to the helm will help restore the prestige and stature of these bodies, which have often been accused of using them as their personal fiefdom.
Their appointments must be decided by an independent and competent body and the candidates must be selected irrespective of colour or creed and the KPIs set.
There were enough examples of unqualified people who had never uttered a word during board meetings.
Set proper rules, cleanse the system
Besides, there is another area that the government should look into – remunerating the directors. In most cases, it is classified as a “meeting allowance” but such a stipend in some instances runs into five figures.
In at least one case, allowances were paid for the tailoring of tuxedos!
Is this justified because none of them are executive directors and only meet periodically? Since there is no scale or uniformity, the sums are determined by the board (who happily agree) and approved by the minister.
The government has set the exercise in motion and the entire system must be cleansed so that procedures are in place to ensure that we do not go back to the old days. - Mkini
R NADESWARAN is a veteran journalist who writes on bread-and-butter issues. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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