“Aren’t there any professional leaders who are not politicians?” asked Ramon Navaratnam, a former deputy secretary-general of the national treasury and a former Transparency International Malaysia president
He was commenting on the recent appointments of former Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki as Mara chairman, and deputy Penang PKR chief Bakhtiar Wan Chik as MyCreative Ventures chairman.
Navaratnam said the appointments were inconsistent with good governance practices.
“Instead of moving towards increasing professionalism, the government is repeating old mistakes,” he told FMT. “This gives the impression it is offering rewards and jobs to party members.”
Electoral reform group Bersih has also criticised the government’s appointment of politicians to GLCs.
Its chairman, Thomas Fann, recently said it was regrettable that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim would allow such appointments after campaigning on a reformist platform.
For years, activists and NGOs have called for GLC appointments to be based on merit.
Another economist, Edmund Terence Gomez, said he believed the appointments were to appeal to Bumiputera voters ahead of the six state elections that must be held this year.
“With state elections pending in six states, these particular appointments raise a red flag,” he told FMT.
He noted that Mara had an extensive interest in business and education, and said its chairman could have enormous influence over institutions within the conglomerate. This could influence election outcomes, he said.
He asked how the government would ensure Mara would not be exploited to serve Umno’s interest, given that Asyraf was Mara chairman and the body came under the rural and regional development ministry.
The rural and regional development minister is Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Gomez urged the government to justify the appointments of the two politicians.
He said there was a need for the entire GLC ecosystem to be reviewed with the aim of reforming GLCs in the best interest of Malaysia and in line with the goals of their establishment.
“We also need an independent commission to oversee the running of Malaysia’s vast GLC ecosystem,” he said.