He said politicians holding GLC positions might face conflicts of interest, leading to abuse of power and responsibility.
In an interview with Bernama, he said: “Many appointments are made for political reasons. If you are appointed to a position with complete power, there are decisions you have to make on a daily basis.
“And in making these decisions, there will be some demands made on you because of your connections, your relatives, your friends and also your cronies.”
Tunku Aziz said this trend of abusing power because of conflicts of interest had been happening for a long time, and might be stopped if the appointment for a top post in a GLC was conducted with “proper selection and screening”.
He said the selection process must include going through the candidate’s background and track record.
“There are always people out there who want special treatment, to have the advantage over their competitors.
“They don’t care how it is done (as long as they get the job)… This is where corruption starts.”
Tunku Aziz said proper recruitment procedures and techniques could help achieve transparency and accountability, which were essential for top management.
“We can make corruption unprofitable business by making it more difficult to put your hand in the till.”
Tunku Aziz said he believed corruption was now taking place at the operating level.
“Ministers cannot sign or award contracts. However, directors in some departments can do it. This is where abuse of power takes place,” he said.
“If you have no power, you cannot abuse it. Civil servants have a lot more power than their political masters and ministers (in awarding contracts),” he said.
He noted that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission was now catching a lot more “big fish” than before the appointment of Dzulkifli Ahmad as the new head in July last year.
Tunku Aziz said the MACC was a dedicated and highly professional team focusing on the root causes of corruption while catching the crooks.