KUALA LUMPUR: Members of Parliament today proposed a rigorous and systematic rationalisation of statutory bodies, government-linked companies (GLCs), and government-linked investment companies (GLICs).
The proposal also included calls for robust governance and the requirement to present public-interest financial or investment reports in Parliament.
Referring to recent investment losses by Khazanah Nasional Berhad (Khazanah) and Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) amounting to RM43.9 million in FashionValet Sdn Bhd (FashionValet), several MPs raised concerns over the governance and management of statutory bodies, GLCs, and GLICs, which they argued must be addressed immediately.
Dr Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen (PH-Bandar Kuching), during the policy-level debate on the Supply Bill 2025 in the Dewan Rakyat, said that issues affecting statutory bodies or government agencies, GLCs, and GLICs involved not only public financial losses but also governance and accountability in managing these agencies.
“All major GLC and GLIC investments or financial statements should be presented and discussed in Parliament, especially by the Special Select Committee on Finance.
“If possible, we should establish a Special Select Committee for GLC and GLIC Reform... there needs to be safeguards in place and rigorous monitoring processes. As I mentioned, profit and loss are part of investing, but waste can be minimised because this involves public funds,“ he said.
He added that rationalising statutory bodies and GLCs in Malaysia offered valuable opportunities to enhance efficiency, accountability, and service delivery in the public sector.
Meanwhile, Datuk Awang Hashim (PN-Pendang) urged the government to refine governance procedures concerning investment approvals by GLICs, given the use of public funds.
“The investment losses of Khazanah and PNB in FashionValet, amounting to nearly RM43.9 million, is a significant sum in the context of trust funds, where merely apologising and resigning should not suffice.
“This is a governance issue that requires the government’s scrutiny, as the matter of governance was raised by the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) during the tabling of the Budget,” he said.
The issue of governance was also raised by Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (PN-Masjid Tanah), who urged the government to ensure that public funds were spent responsibly and not carelessly.
The sitting resumes tomorrow.
