KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, Datuk Seri Panglima Bung Moktar Radin, claims that a large number of Sabah’s government-linked companies (GLCs) are operating at a loss because they were not managed well.
According to him, the appointment of the board of directors is primarily determined by quotas rather than merit, and the state government does not give the interests of the GLCs involved priority.
He claims that a number of GLCs also use the GLCs to appoint officials who are close friends and family members by giving them excessively high salaries and benefits that could negatively impact the GLCs’ financial standing.
“This causes the management of the GLC involved to be unprofitable and uncompetitive”.
“That is why most GLCs in the state have suffered losses rather than profits, and this matter should be prevented from affecting the GLCs concerned,” he said in a statement here today.
Bung was commenting on Finance Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun’s statement that Sabah GLCs had more losses than profits.
Masidi reminded the GLCs that the state government is not a charitable organisation.
“We are not running a charity organization. You should be trying to get money to pay your staff,” explained Masidi.
Bung Moktar, who is also the Sabah Umno Liaison Committee Chairman and Kinabatangan Member of Parliament, said it was time for the state government to change its strategy for the appointment of board members of GLCs.
Bung said his party is convinced that the appointment of board members should be based on merit and background experience, not on the ruling political party’s quota.
“The state government needs to make changes to ensure that GLCs are more competitive, well managed, profit-oriented, and effective in the businesses they explore,” said the Lamag assemblyman.
