KUALA LUMPUR: The Parliament’s new select committees are urged to examine government-linked companies (GLC) that use ministries’ budget for their business purpose, a former top civil servant told a conference.
Calling such GLCs as ‘mosquito GLCs’, the former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim said there were a lot of GLCs that rely on ministries’ budget that should be used for the people, after they were unable to get loans from the banks.
“There were a lot of GLCs that are being controlled by several ministries. After banks don’t give them money so they rely on the ministries’ budget.
“So the select committee should examine these GLCs and see whether they should exist at all,“ he said at the 2019 HELP University Conversation On National Issues, here today.
Mohd Sheriff was one of the panels for the one-day conference entitled Building A ‘New Malaysia’: Agendas and Aspirations.
Mohd Sheriff also hoped the select committees would play an important role in overseeing the government functions and raising related issues.
In December 2018, the Dewan Rakyat was informed of the establishment of six new Select Committees, a reshuffle in existing committees and the establishment of the Caucus on Reforms and Governance.
Speaker Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof said the six new Select Committees were for Consideration of Bills; on Budget; on Defence and Home Affairs; on Rights and Gender Equality; on States and Federal Relations and on Major Public Appointments.
Meanwhile a political scientist suggested that the Pakatan Harapan government groomed young leaders to inherit the country’s leadership.
The Political Science expert from John Cabot University and the Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the HELP University Prof Dr Bridget Welsh (she) said that it was important because the result of the 14th General Election was predominantly due to young voters who wanted a different future.
“So the big question to look now is not Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad or Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the leaders for the future but look at the second generation of leadership.
“As an example, for the next 10 years who will become the deputy prime minister, who will become ministers that will run the government. Malaysia needs to groom younger leaders with such skills,“ she said. — Bernama
