KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 — The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) has called for a new law to govern the way that the chairman and directors of government-linked investment corporations (GLICs), government linked corporations (GLCs) and all commercially related statutory bodies are appointed.
The election watchdog today launched a report titled “Reforming the Appointment Process of Directors in GLICs, GLCs and Commercially Related Statutory Bodies” which recommended the legislation of a “GLC Act”.
According to the report, the new Act will define GLCs clearly and regulate the appointment process of their chairman/president and directors in compliance with transparency, accountability and meritocracy. The checks and balances practice of parliamentary select committees will also be included.
“Such reform is much needed as the power is currently highly concentrated in the hands of the Executive, especially the prime minister.
“It has been abused during Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH)’s rule for political patronage and control of resources at the expense of merit, competency and professionalism,” the election watchdog said in a statement today.
Bersih 2.0 claimed that the unchecked abuse of power has deteriorated during the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration, with positions in GILCs, GLCs and commercially related statutory bodies being used to entice elected representatives in exchange for their support.
The election watchdog partnered with the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) for the report, which also highlighted several key findings.
Chief among them were:
― The expansion of the payroll vote when elected representatives such as members of Parliament (MP) or state assemblymen are appointed as a director in a GLIC, GLC or statutory body which is within their legislature’s supervision;
― GLIC’s incorporation statutes and parliamentary laws governing GLCs do not spell out stringent requirements on persons to be appointed as directors and there is no legal or institutional instrument to ensure that the appointments made by the minister have appropriate qualifications; and
― The Executive has complete authority over the appointment of the directors, especially the prime minister. Even appointment of directors in non-GLIC statutory bodies such as Felda, Mara and Petronas are also dominated by the Executive.
With the report’s findings in mind, Bersih 2.0 called for enhanced disclosure and transparency through periodic reports on listed/unlisted GLICs/GLCs that should include important information such as director remuneration, director background, tender bids etc.
“A specific body such as the Putrajaya Committee on GLC High Performance should take on this task,” it said.
