THE Prime Minister’s Office announced that the appointment process for chairmen and members of boards of directors of federal statutory bodies (BPP) will undergo further enhancements.

The new guidelines, approved at the meeting of the special cabinet committee on national governance, will ensure transparency and mandatory screenings by national enforcement agencies. This includes reviews by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Insolvency Department and screening by the police.

The guidelines, aimed at strengthening governance, also emphasise capacity development programmes for board members at BPPs.

It also strengthens the detection, supervision, and governance of statutory bodies through a platform known as the Statutory Bodies System for periodic reporting to the prime minister.

“The statutory bodies are one of the important branches of the public sector and require good governance. The contribution of statutory bodies as public entities not only influences the country’s economic growth but also supports the implementation of strategies by central agencies and other government departments,” read the statement.

During the committee meeting, discussions focused on enhancing regulations and procedures to strengthen the governance of statutory bodies.

The guidelines put forth include reinforcing the structure and composition of Board membership, with mandatory involvement of the Implementation Coordination Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department (ICU), particularly for statutory bodies receiving allocations from the Five-Year Malaysia Plan.

The newly-introduced guidelines emphasise efforts to comprehensively empower the role of Internal Audit at the statutory body level, encompassing statutory body companies and corporations.

The statement highlights that the implementation of these guidelines aligns with the Madani agenda, focusing on strengthening statutory bodies as a crucial component of the public sector that demands good governance.

“Through ‘Pantau Madani’, monitoring of statutory bodies will be carried out more effectively through the empowerment of the ICU, Finance Ministry, National Audit Department, and Performance Acceleration Coordination Unit,” read the statement.

In line with the principle of transparency, the statement said the committee also discussed the new format of asset declaration by members of the administration and Members of Parliament to be enforced, and that it would be soon presented to the cabinet. – January 8, 2024.