IPOH, May 13 ― One year into administration, the Pakatan Harapan-led Perak government has shut down the operation of several statutory bodies and government linked companies (GLC) which did not serve its original purpose.
Citing the State Agricultural Development Corporation of Perak (SADC) as an example, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu said the corporation which should be focusing on agricultural has been found involved in large scale makeup business.
“SADC supposed to help the people by spurring the economy through agricultural development, but instead they open a make business selling makeup products, which involves millions of ringgit,” he told reporters in a special interview session at his current official residence here.
“SADC is not the only one which went off track. They are a few more which we have found out and we have shut down its operation.
“It's a key milestone for us as we closed down GLC which did not produce any revenue for the state. They also have problems in paying salaries for their staff,” he said.
Ahmad Faizal also said investigations revealed that many agreements signed by these statutory bodies and GLC with third parties were lopsided.
“For example, SADC signed an agreement with a third party over a project. The third party was supposed carry out the project but what happens here is SADC does all the work and the third party enjoys profit up to 50 per cent without doing anything. This is crazy,” he said.
“This is the major challenge we are facing now. It's not easy to re-negotiate with them over the signed agreements. But we are trying our best to take the case one-by-one,” he added.
Ahmad Faizal also said that the state has put an end to “commitment fee” in any agreements signed between the state and third party.
“We want to do away with this culture of giving commitment fee once signed agreement. At the end, the commitment fee, which was supposed to use for the project will be spent without even starting the project.
“The Movie Animation Park Studios (MAPS) is an example of the commitment fee failure. The state has given out millions of advance payment and ended up in debt and the projects were not completed on time. However, we are salvaging the theme park with new business model,” he added.
Ahmad Faizal also said the state has cut down salary for the officers in the statutory bodies and GLC.
“When I became the mentri besar, I was shocked to see how the former mentri besar had allowed these officers to have a salary three times more than what the mentri besar is earning.
“The officers also held several positions in the subsidiary companies, despite holding a high position in the holding companies,” he said.
