Mahathir: GLCs Role Must Be Reviewed

KUALA LUMPUR, JULY 8, 2010: The role of government-linked companies (GLCs) must be reviewed to find out whether they are still serving their original purpose, says former prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad."We have to find out. Obviously many people are not happy with what the GLCs are doing.
"We seem to be copying Singapore all the time," he told reporters after the live telecast by RTM of the third series of the "Our 10th Malaysia Plan Forum".The role of GLCs have changed from their original purpose, he said.


In the past, there were no GLCs, Khazanah and PNB were formed to safeguard Bumiputera shares, he said.
"When we gave shares to Bumiputera, they sold their shares to make profit so we formed PNB to save their shares in an organisation in the form of unit trust."Khazanah meanwhile was formed to keep all the shares bought by Bumiputeras to ensure that the shares allocated to Bumiputeras do not go missing.

"The equity held by Khazanah was the reason that made the 20 percent Bumiputera equity a reality," he said.
Meanwhile, on the Vision 2020, he said it could be difficult to achieve given the current "internal and external problems."However, it could be achieved if there is a change in strategy, he added.With regard to the development of Kampung Baru in Kuala Lumpur, Dr Mahathir suggested that the other races too should be involved in the development programme so that it could provide an incentive in the effort.

"I feel there should be other races taking part too. We cannot set 40 percent or 50 per cent but to a certain extent there must be (participation), because it will be an incentive."If the other races are not doing business, the Malays too will not come because it has become a belief that the Malays cannot do business," he said.
Meanwhile, he said the reason why only a few Malays were listed in the 40 richest individuals in the country after 50 years of independence was because, according to him, the Malays "still cannot curtail their desires and are too spendthrift."

"We don't control our desires, the moment we get the money (we) want to spend. I met with a Chinese friend and he said the problem with the Bumiputera is that they don't know how to manage cash. When they have money, they want to spend. Even when the money is not yet theirs, they already spend," he said.
Dr Mahathir also pointed out that the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) was not racialist although it gave much emphasis on the Bumiputera development agenda."(10MP) merely aims to achieve a balance in the income of all Malaysians regardless of race," he added.Later, Dr Mahathir cut 'pulut kuning' (yellow glutinous rice) in conjunction with his 85th birthday.

Source :http://www.malaysiandigest.com/news/36-local/5496-mahathir-glcs-role-must-be-reviewed.html