Position of GLC chairman among aspirations of politicians - Akhbar Satar

KUALA LUMPUR: The position of chairman in government-linked companies (GLCs) is among the aspirations of some politicians in the country.

President of the Malaysian Certified Fraud Inspection Association, Datuk Seri Akhbar Satar, said this is because the many advantages given by the agency caused it to be chased by some of the leaders.

"This position usually emphasises the salary and privileges provided by the GLC, many of which are given vehicles, well cared for and so on.

"This is one of the places (status or positions) that most politicians want," he told Astro AWANI here, on Friday.

Akhbar said the attitude of monopolising power in the GLC is one of the reasons for the failure of good governance that led to abuse of power and corruption.

"After becoming the chairman of a GLC, the individual also makes the GLC subsidiary his property to the extent that it also becomes a determinant to policy making or decisions. This happens a lot.

"Furthermore, the GLC chairman is appointed from among politicians and this is not liked by many parties.

“This leader actually does not have time to think about the direction of the GLC because problems in his own constituency are also aplenty.

"This has caused GLC governance not to be conducted properly," he said.

Apart from that, he added, there are also certain GLC chairmen who use the provisions in the GLC to perform corporate social responsibility (CSR) in their respective areas.

"This is an offence and has violated the GLC's vision and mission procedures.

"Of course, the action is also not liked by other parties, especially the board members in the GLC," he explained.

Akhbar was commenting on a case involving former Mara Inc chairman Datuk Mohammad Lan Allani who faced 22 charges worth RM20.45 million at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today.

Mohammad Lan, however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges before judges Azura Alwi and Rozina Ayob involving real estate transactions in Australia.