LAYOFFS are still considered an option to reduce excessive government spending and to keep troubled, loss-making government-owned companies afloat.
Sabah finance minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun however, said efforts will be taken to guide these companies into profitability though most companies will likely trim the workforce to reduce losses.
Sabah has over 200 GLCs, but only a handful are making profits.
“Layoffs, I can’t say at the moment. To a lot of people, this is a very sensitive thing. I don’t talk about layoffs.
“I always talk about asking yourself whether you contributed to the profitability of the company, if yes, then you should have a job there.
“If not, you should think twice if you should remain there,” Masidi told reporters after attending his ministry’s appreciation night in Kota Kinabalu, yesterday.
Masidi said he would leave such matters to the discretion of the GLC heads to decide.
He said guidelines on financial management would be issued to the GLCs, while the state will form a unit to monitor their performance as announced by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor recently.
However, Masidi said the cabinet should not only rely on reports and he had proposed that a consultative panel be formed to rope experts from the private sector to help ailing GLCs.
“The cabinet does not only want a unit to report on the actions taken. We also need to have action-oriented approaches,” he said.
Earlier, Masidi expressed concern over Sabah’s falling revenue due to the volatility of crude palm oil and crude oil prices which account for 68% of the state’s income.
He said 68% of state revenue collection was from both commodities but it lost RM 566.3 million due to the slump in market prices due to external forces despite recording its best revenue collection in 2023.
Overall, he said Sabah surpassed its revenue in 2023 by RM11 million to RM6.791 billion from RM6,960 billion in 2022 due to the surge in land revenue collection.
“For this, I wish to give credit to the ministry’s revenue section which had gone all out in their efforts,” he said. - The Vibes, January 13, 2023
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