SANDAKAN – All Sabah government-linked and state-owned companies must get approval from the state cabinet before conducting working trips outside the state, in a bid to curb excessive spending, Sabah Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said.
All state GLCs must also present investment proposals to the state cabinet before embarking on any ventures.
“This is so that the cabinet could discuss their proposals, look into all aspects, and justify if the investments and trips are necessary and would be beneficial to the companies,” Masidi (Karanaan-Gagasan) said during the state assembly sitting today.
He was answering Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal (Senallang-Warisan) who questioned the government’s action to reduce the expenditure of state GLCs.
Earlier, Shafie had also questioned the government’s action on non-performing GLCs, noting that 90% of statutory bodies and state-owned firms had not paid dividends to the state government last year as they were not performing well.
On this, Masidi said the Sabah government was setting up a GLC Consultation and Monitoring Panel, which will be established next month, aimed at assisting troubled GLCs to recover and improve their performance.
The panel will be chaired by the state Finance Ministry’s permanent secretary, Siaw Kok Chee, who is financial advisor to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
Its members will consist of three individuals from the private sector and three from the Sabah government.
“The panel’s role is to provide advice and guidance on the efficiency of the functions and roles of the GLCS; look into and reevaluate the key performance index of each GLC that has problems, while giving recommendations and views (to the state government) such as termination or restructuring of the company, to create a more sustainable ecosystem for the GLCs.
“We hope that the participation of the best minds (in the panel) would help troubled GLCs improve their performance,” he said.
Masidi also said the state government had taken actions against several GLCs but did not want to reveal them.
The main problem with state GLCs is that “they do not have the mindset and character of private businesses”, because their business capital is funded by the government.
“The problem is, their capital is the government’s capital, not their own capital. So, when they lose money, they (don’t work hard) because it is the government’s capital.
“They don’t have the awareness that the government’s money is the rakyat’s money. In the private sector, if they go bankrupt, they will feel ashamed. But GLCs, if they go bankrupt or lose a lot of money, it is the government that is shamed, not the management of the companies,” he said.
In October last year, Hajiji revealed that out of over 200 state GLCs and statutory bodies in Sabah, only 10 had been paying dividends to the state government, saying he was disappointed with the development.
This was followed by Masidi, who said that the state government had given the underperforming GLCs the ultimatum.
“They have a lot of time to try. If they still fail, only two things can happen: we change them or we close the company,” he said. – April 24, 2024