PRIME MINISTER Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced today that government agencies are prohibited from setting up companies under their jurisdiction without obtaining the highest-level approval, citing the significant number of companies that have been incurring losses.
Anwar, who also serves as the Finance Minister, explained that a proposal to streamline several government agencies in order to address the issue of overlapping functions will soon be presented at a Cabinet meeting for discussion and approval.
"This issue must first be brought to the attention of the Cabinet before any decision can be made," Anwar stated during his speech at the Ministry of Finance's monthly gathering in Putrajaya on Wednesday.
He further revealed that he had tasked Datuk Seri Asri Hamidon, the then Treasury Secretary-General, with drafting proposals to streamline various agencies and present them to the Chief Secretary to the Government. Afterward, Anwar will make the final decision once the proposals have been submitted for Cabinet review.
Anwar had previously mentioned on September 3 last year that the government had set up the Secretariat for the Rationalisation of Federal Statutory Bodies, which aimed to address the issue of overlapping functions across government agencies and reduce unnecessary expenditures.
Following this, Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, the Chief Secretary to the Government, announced the appointment of Asri Hamidon to head the Special Committee for the Rationalisation of Federal Statutory Bodies, effective September 10, 2024.
In his speech, Anwar also emphasised that no company should be established under any government agency without obtaining approval at the highest level due to the growing concern over the financial losses being recorded by many of these companies.
"I have instructed that no agency should create a company without approval from the highest level because we have seen thousands of such companies incurring enormous losses," he said. "While cancelling these companies is a difficult decision, if necessary, we must take action. This is part of what we refer to as institutional reform," Anwar added.
He urged public sector employees to think and act quickly in order to drive Malaysia's economic growth forward.
In a separate development, Anwar shared that during his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, they had discussed key strategies for implementing policies and major national plans.
He emphasised that both leaders had focused on enhancing the execution of policies, with several initiatives already showing positive results.
"We highlighted the importance of effective implementation of our policies and major strategies. Some of these matters are progressing well," Anwar added. – February 12, 2025
