BERSIH has slammed the unity government for continuing the old practice of making political appointments at government-linked companies (GLCs).

Its steering committee was referring to the appointment of Wong Chen as the non-executive chairman of Malaysia Debts Ventures Bhd (MDV), a state-owned enterprise.

“While we applaud Wong’s self-imposed limits to his role in that he will not chair the board committees on risk management, remuneration, audit, and financing and investments to minimise any conflict of interest issues, we wonder if there is such a dearth of talents in our country that the prime minister must appoint Wong Chen?”

Bersih said while it was not questioning Wong’s qualifications, the government must put a stop to the decades of political appointments and patronage that have in the past ended in corruption and mismanagement.

The electoral watchdog on the other hand lauded Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli who recently urged qualified candidates to apply to be chief executive officers (CEOs) of two GLCs under his ministry.

“While Wong was vetted by the MACC (Malaysian Anti-corruption Commission), such appointments should be vetted by the relevant parliamentary select committees and elected representatives should be excluded as candidates for GLC positions, though exceptions could be made for key statutory bodies that oversee and direct government policies.

“The scrutiny by these committees will ensure only qualified individuals are appointed to key positions in GLCs and statutory boards as these enterprises are custodians of public wealth, and not private businesses.

“The prime minister of this unity government must seize this opportunity to end the decades of political appointments and patronage that have in the past ended in corruption and/or mismanagement of these GLCs.

“Let the appointment process be open and transparent so that qualified Malaysians who want to serve their country through GLCs and statutory bodies can apply,” Bersih said.

Yesterday, Wong announced his appointment as the Special Select Committee on International Relations and Trade chairman and the Finance Ministry’s MDV non-executive chairman on Facebook.

He said his qualification for the post was also acknowledged by the ministry.

“I was a former corporate lawyer. I have also declared my assets and signed an anti-corruption pledge.”

Wong had previously served as the chairman of the same select committee in 2019-2020 for four months before the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government.

MDV is a state-owned enterprise providing financing facilities to the information and communications technology sector. – May 25, 2023.