KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 ― A total of 6,170 workers lost their jobs in government-linked companies (GLCs) this year, the Finance Ministry disclosed today.

In a written parliamentary reply, the ministry said the retrenchments involved five of the top 20 GLCs that have been dubbed the G20 group and two companies directly under the Finance Ministry Incorporated (MKD).

"Under the G20 group, there are five GLCs which have stopped or have not extended the working of contracts of 5,134 workers,” the statement read.

The biggest job cuts were to Malaysia Airlines System Berhad which saw 4,682 workers get the sack.

The breakdown for the other four GLCs are as follows: Kumpulan Affin (146 workers), Boustead Holdings Bhd (151 workers), Chemical Company of Malaysia Bhd (153 workers) and the national carrier renamed as Malaysia Airlines Berhad (two workers).

Retrenchments at MKD companies were at state-owned oil giant Petroliam Nasional Berhad and Bank Pertanian Malaysia Berhad (Agrobank) which terminated the positions of 1,000 people and 36 people respectively.

The Finance Ministry said the job cuts were due to various reasons such as the company stopping operations, mergers and the business climate.

But it added that the workers laid off received proper compensation based on their respective Collective Agreements.

The ministerial reply was in response to Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng from the DAP who asked the government to state how many people were retrenched from GLCs this year.