KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 ― Selangor Mentri Besar Azmin Ali must first table the full accounts of state-owned Mentri Besar Incorporated (MBI) in the state assembly and disclose the compensation of top MBI executives in a bid to increase transparency of the controversial Darul Ehsan Investment Group (DEIG), DAP lawmaker Dr Ong Kian Ming said today.
The Serdang MP also urged Azmin to review and reveal the dividend policy of MBI and government-linked corporations under it, pointing out that neither MBI nor state-owned companies, except for mining company Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd, had contributed any dividends to the state government from 2004 to 2014, compared to national investment arm Khazanah Nasional Bhd that had paid out RM7.4 billion in dividends since 2004.
“Needless to say, the same standards of transparency should be applied for DEIG,” Ong said in a statement.
“It is reassuring that Azmin has promised that the accounts of MBI will be tabled in the Selangor state assembly after the initial concerns regarding DEIG were raised. But this is just a first step of many in order to prove that the standards of transparency in MBI are indeed better than Khazanah’s,” he added.
DEIG, which was set up under the Azmin administration to consolidate and manage MBI’s assets, has raised questions from both sides of the political divide, with Selangor DAP chief Tony Pua saying last month that DEIG must not end up like the debt-laden 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Ong also pointed out that 20 of the 28 companies under MBI, whose revenue and profits were publicly available, experienced after-tax losses in the 2014 financial year.
MBI’s main holding company Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad (KDEB) had an after-tax loss of RM144.4 million that year, while Kumpulan Hartanah Selangor Berhad (KHSB) experienced an after-tax loss of RM235 million.
“Perhaps more than DEIG, what is really needed for the companies and subsidiaries under MBI is a process similar to what the federal GLCs went through and are still going through under the GLC Transformation Program that seemed to have yielded positive results for most of the companies involved,” said Ong.
“For some of the perpetually unprofitable and non-core companies, divestment or winding up should be seriously considered. For those which are deemed as strategic assets and which have a record of loss-making, a turnaround program must be identified and put in place,” he added.
Ong also questioned the apparent lack of a clear corporate strategy under the proposed restructuring of the companies under MBI into eight core areas under DEIG.
“For example, how will the group of companies under the infrastructure and construction core area manage the water assets of the state especially after the takeover exercise of Syabas, Puncak Niaga, Kumpulan ABASS and Splash is completed?” he said.
“Similarly, what will be the focus of the companies under the property core area? Would it follow PKNS’s model of doing joint ventures (JVs) with big property developers to develop high end properties and maximise profits for MBI or DEIG? Or will it choose to focus more on building affordable homes which are in great demand in the Klang Valley but would have a lower gross development value (GDV)?” the lawmaker added.
– See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/dap-mp-shows-azmin-how-to-boost-deigs-transparency-fix-loss-making-glcs#sthash.AcLDmlWq.dpuf