00:00Politicians are not keen to institute public governance reforms in government-linked companies,
00:07as the ecosystem makes a major political resource available to them.
00:12This is according to prominent economist Edwin Terence Gomez in his new book titled Misgovernance
00:18Grant Corruption in Malaysia.
00:20Gomez said Malaysia's four prime ministers since 2018 were well aware that GLCs offer
00:25access to public concessions and funds which could help consolidate their position in a
00:30deeply fractured political system.
00:33According to him, GLCs serve as a vast corporate base that enables the government to implement
00:39political measures.
00:41He said this relationship between the government and GLCs inevitably allows for rent-seeking,
00:46selective patronage, cronyism, and nepotism.
00:49Gomez claimed that Dr. Mahathir Mohamad merely reframed the GLC structure to consolidate
00:55his position in his second stint as prime minister.
00:58He also said the current prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, has yet to reform the GLC ecosystem
01:04despite his anti-corruption stance.
01:06He also claimed that former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi merely addressed management
01:11issues in public-listed GLCs but did little to prevent the literal combat ship saga which
01:17implicated the Armed Forces Fund Board and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Bosted Holdings
01:22Berhad.
01:23Misgovernance, Grand Corruption in Malaysia is on sale at MPH and Kinokuniya, ES Light,
01:30Tutaya, and Garabudaya bookshops.
