The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) welcomed the move to rationalise these statutory bodies, saying it was a critical step towards enhancing efficient and effective use of government resources and public service delivery.

It said this was why a detailed implementation plan must be drawn up to keep the public informed of the process and outcomes of the rationalisation.

“Overlapping mandates could result in inefficiencies and wastage of resources, especially if they work on similar focus areas and do not coordinate their efforts and programmes.

“A rationalisation exercise, which could reduce the number of federal statutory bodies, would provide the government with some fiscal space, albeit small,” IDEAS’s senior research director, Sri Murniati Yusuf, said in a statement.

She also called for the government to engage with stakeholders to ensure the rationalisation would meet the people’s needs and contribute to the overall goal of a more efficient, responsive and accountable administration.

“Considering the work IDEAS has done on federal statutory bodies and state-owned enterprises reform over the years, we are ready to participate in any consultations the government organises in the future,” she said.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that a secretariat to study the rationalisation of federal statutory bodies has been established to address issues of overlapping functions and uncontrolled spending.

He previously hinted that large-scale reforms involving government agencies and departments would be implemented from this month.