MAY 11 -- The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) has urged the government to end the outdated practice of funding government party operations and rewarding leaders through positions in government-linked companies (GLCs) and statutory bodies.

In a statement today, Bersih said that due to conflicts of interest, the appointment of elected representatives into statutory bodies should be minimised, and those appointed should be subject to the monitoring of the cross-party Special Parliamentary Select Committee to ensure that the body’s objectives are met.

I would propose STIM be introduced for appointments to GLCs and statutory bodies:

S – Selflessness. Ministers when making appointments should act solely in terms of the public interest.

T – Transparent. Appointments and their processes should be transparent. Processes for making the appointments should be open and transparent.

I – Integrity. Ministers when making appointments should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.

M – Merit. All appointments should be governed by the principle of appointment on merit. This means appointing high quality candidates, drawn from a strong, diverse field, whose skills, experiences and qualities have been judged to meet the needs of the public body or statutory office in question.

The above is adopted from the Governance Code on Public Appointments, United Kingdom 2016.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.