Bring corrupt culprits to court fast

MINISTER in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Paul Low recently told the Dewan Rakyat that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) detained 1,011 civil servants and 26 executives of government-linked companies (GLCs) for alleged corruption and money-laundering between 2014 and September this year.

Assets amounting to almost RM172mil were seized and frozen in relation to these cases.

The government officers nabbed outnumbered the GLC executives by nearly 40 to one, but that is no reason to focus less on the fight against corruption in the GLCs.

The GLCs are in many ways a special class of companies.

A GLC is like any other company in the sense that its primary objective is to make money from commercial activities.

At the same time, a GLC is controlled by the Government (usually through majority shareholding) and is thus an extension of the Government.

But that is not the only way that a GLC is like a government department or a statutory body.

Often, GLCs serve as instruments of public policy.

For example, they undertake huge projects that drive the country’s development. They are in industries that are strategic to national interests — aviation, finance, telecommunications, natural resources, automotive, ports and power.

They tailor certain aspects of their operations, such as human resources and procurement, to suit objectives set by the Government. And they champion causes that support what the authorities want to do.

As such, we have every reason to be dismayed if a GLC is not run with integrity and efficiency.

Do we derive comfort from the MACC’s detention of two GLC top men over the past week?

On Nov 10, the Commission picked up the general manager of a GLC at his house in Seremban to assist in a corruption probe.

And on Monday, a director of a GLC was detained for alleged abuse of power and corruption back when he was chief executive officer of another GLC.

We can view these developments as encouraging signs of the MACC stepping up its efforts to combat corruption in GLCs.

But the feel-good factor will not last if the investigations are not followed by swift and successful prosecution.

Hauling up people for questioning and freezing assets is only half the job.

The culprits must be brought to court and people need to see justice delivered without fear or favour.

If this does not happen, it only serves to bolster the longstanding argument that government has no business being in business.


 By The Star Says - The Star analyses the issues and developments of the day, and offers a viewpoint.

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Malaysian big GLCs headed by foreigners, how dismay!

 GLC head the subject of row

By SIRA HABIBU sira@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: The British citizenship of Raja Idris Raja Kamarudin (pic) who has headed two powerful Selangor government-linked corporations since April last year has become an issue of controversy.

Selangor Umno secretary Datuk Seri Mohd Zin Mohamed has questioned why and how Raja Idris, 58, was picked to be the chairman of Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Bhd (KPSB), Kumpulan Hartanah Selangor Berhad (KHSB) and executive consultant and adviser of Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad (KDEB).

KDEB is the investment arm of the Selangor Govern­ment while KPSB is a full-fledged water services provider. KHSB is an investment company with many land assets.

Mohd Zin said Raja Idris, the brother of fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, was listed on the official website of KHSB as a British subject.

“Raja Idris is a British citizen. It raises a big question as to why he is selected to head several big GLCs. Can’t Khalid, who is from the corporate circle, find any local talent to run the show?” he asked.

In an immediate reaction, Raja Idris admitted that he was still a British citizen but said he assumed that his appointment was in line with the country’s initiative to bring back Malaysians from abroad.

“Well, I thought that was why Talent Corp was set up – to bring back Malaysians who have left Malaysia and have taken up other jobs and obtained new citizenship in other countries,” he said, adding that he was a non-executive director.

Mohd Zin said there was much unhappiness about how Selangor GLCs are being run, including the removal of senior officials.

He was referring to the sacking of two KHSB company secretaries in relation to the ongoing controversy over the “loss” of a 234ha piece of land in Gombak worth RM250mil belonging to a fully-owned subsidiary of KHSB. Two other officials have also been given show cause letters.

Malaysian Trades Union Congress president Mohd Khalid Atan said it would not be fair to others if the appointment was politically motivated, adding that “priority should be given to locals”.

“Why trust outsiders more than locals? This is an insult to locals,” he said.

MCA central committee member Loh Seng Kok urged Raja Idris to give up his British citizenship, asking whether it was wise for him to have access to so much information invol­ving state assets.

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