KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 — There is nothing wrong with appointing politicians to lead government-linked companies (GLCs) as long as they have integrity, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said today in the wake of the Felda Global Ventures (FGV) crisis.

"You see, whoever leads, independent of whether you're a politician or not, you have to be transparent at whatever you do, and all that is accountable (sic).

"So it should be all right even if a politician leads a GLC. (They must have) integrity, yes,” Dr Wan Azizah told reporters.

Earlier today, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) advisory board advised the government against appointing politicians to head GLCs, amid the leadership crisis in FGV.

The board reasoned that most politicians bring their political habits along to the business they are handling, which it said results in unscrupulous practices when they run the business.

FGV president and CEO Datuk Zakaria Arshad and three other FGV officials have been put on indefinite leave this week pending internal scrutiny into alleged irregularities in the crude palm oil producer over delayed payment owed to a subsidiary, Delima Oil Products Sdn Bhd, and Afghan firm Safitex.

The others suspended alongside Zakaria were FGV chief financial officer Ahmad Tifli Mohd Talha, FGV Trading chief executive officer Ahmad Salman Omar, and Delima Oil Products senior general manager Kamarzaman Abd Karim. FGV chairman Tan Sri Isa Mohd Isa Samad is an Umno veteran.