SOMETIMES, the solution to a problem is staring you in the face but you just can’t see it.

Take the latest scandal at Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV), the most recent of a long list of government-linked entities mired in a  swamp of accusations and counter-accusations of corruption, power abuse and general wrongdoing.

Here’s what we know so far.

FGV chairman Isa Samad and the board of directors asked CEO Zakaria Arshad and three other officers to take an indefinite leave of absence pending an internal probe into business deals between Afghan company Safitex and FGV subsidiary Delima Oil Products Sdn Bhd.

Zakaria hit back by handing over a stack of documents to the MACC, alleging that something was rotten within FGV. He has questioned FGV’s overseas acquisitions and cast doubt and suspicions over the company’s board decisions.

It is crystal clear that something is amiss in FGV, brainchild of Prime Minister Najib Razak. Someone has been pilfering from a company set up for the benefit of the thousands of Felda settlers.

It is clear that there has been some form of corporate wrongdoing in the public-listed company.

The Felda settlers and the Malaysian public deserve to know the real story. But first, they need to be confident that any investigation into the mess will be driven by the twin aims of revealing the truth and punishing the guilty.

The appointment of a person who is a former minister in the Najib administration and who ‎is closely linked to Putrajaya to conduct the investigation is not going to instil that confidence.

Remember, Idris Jala is the man who supposedly turned around Malaysia Airlines only for the airline to need saving a few years later.

He next reinvented himself as the transformation specialist of Pemandu. The most charitable thing one can say about Pemandu is that it loves headline-economic numbers and best case scenarios.

But Idris has been given the trouble-shooting job at FGV because Najib trusts him. The PM needs someone who can contain the damage and make sure that the flow of information that has put Putrajaya on the defensive is stoppered. 

Simply put, Idris doesn’t have the most important qualification for the job. He is too closely affiliated to the government.

Instead of Idris, a team of independent auditors should have been a‎ppointed to scrutinise FGV’s operations and investments. 

As former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin noted: “An independent party that is not affiliated to the government should be chosen to ensure the transparency of the investigation.”

Only then can the public expect an honest and unvarnished report on the goings-on in Felda Global Ventures. – June 8, 2017.