YOURSAY | 'Explain this: Why were GLCs shifted from one ministry to another in this manner?'

Terence Gomez responds to Daim Zainuddin

Quigonbond: I support Universiti Malaya professor of political economy Terence Gomez's call for transparency in the decision-making process involving government-linked companies (GLCs). This is also in line with the GLC caucus that was set up by leading NGOs in Malaysia, including G25.

The government, especially its Malay leaders, cannot hope to play possum on this issue and hope it will be forgotten in time. I go back to the question of political imperative.

Bersatu wants to have more power - perhaps perpetuate its leadership in Pakatan Harapan. That is why it pandered to extremists' views when it could have been stern with them.

Pandering to those forces encourages and emboldens them, gives excuse and reason not to rock the boat with too much reform, requiring a "stay" on the myriad institutions designed to "protect bumiputera".

This is the reason why they prefer to focus on that two-thirds Malay votes that they didn't get, rather than the one-third (who are probably more forward-looking) that they already won over.

My concern and fear are that reform is dead as long as Bersatu heads the Pakatan Harapan government, instead of the reformist faction in PKR.

The rakyat is, of course, in a Catch-22 situation. Most people don't really want to go back to BN. But should Bersatu and its beneficiaries go unpunished by the time of GE15, assuming things are going to only get worse with respect to the reform agenda?

I would advocate for a third force to quickly emerge.

This third force must emerge quickly (and somehow still encompass at least one-third of the Malays) to strike fear in Bersatu leaders to do the right thing because there will be a price to pay for their failure in undertaking comprehensive reforms.

Abasir: Terence Gomez's piece, simultaneously enlightening and troubling, also underscores the fact that Bersatu will continue the nation-wrecking economic policies and tactics of the ousted Umno.

Should that surprise anyone, given that the architects of patronage politics and what Bersatu supreme council member Rais Hussin decries as plutocracy are very much in control of the economy of New Malaysia?

Wasn't anyone else even a little suspicious when Lim Guan Eng was given the finance portfolio and Azmin Ali economic affairs?

Anonymous 2485381503371480: Yes, great questions by Terence Gomez. If the political climate is new as claimed, then this requires a response from the minister in charge himself and not from his underlings.

The operations are funded by taxpayers’ monies, so explain: Why were GLCs shifted from one ministry to another in this manner?

Indeed, when these important GLCs were transferred between ministries, why was there no disclosure about these shifts?

The Reckoning: Thank you, Terence Gomez, for 'lifting the veil' over Malaysia Inc, which is synonymous with ‘Rent Seeking & Co’.

Until the powers-that-be dismantle this 'dinosaur', Malaysia will just rise and fall with the global (economic) tide.

There's no point hiring top-class global strategists (for example, Kenichi Ohmae, PwC, etc) if the overriding mission is that the New Economic Policy's mission supersedes the national economy.

One, this is like 'putting the cart in front of the horse' and two, it is common sense and business logic that domestic competition is vital to lift the country. Recent examples of this are: a) Chinese mobile phone companies are the strongest in the world because of intense domestic competition.

b) Chinese carmakers are now the largest in the world and so is its car market. Because the survivors of the intense competition in its automobile market are now acquiring many global big-name 'have beens'.

Dahjadi Bubur: Thanks, Terence Gomez. I would like to attend your courses - you are truly an exponent of your field of political economy.

My concern with governments is that they do need some sort of opaqueness to resolve issues and keep things running for now and, wishfully, that they will not slip back into the old road ruts in the longer term.

However, from experience on "big data", I think New Malaysia 2018 will be seen to be actually Old Malaysia version 2.0 in 2027 (nothing much has changed).

Kim Quek: Malaysia’s economic model is largely unchanged. Even the mode of operation follows that of the Umno era – fundamentally racist, cronyistic, opaque and autocratic.

I don’t see how this is going to change with the PM – who had been steeped in the Umno style of governance previously – continuing his current autocratic rule.

Without any breakthrough from this old mode of governance with new and rational management that stresses on economic growth, innovation and talents irrespective of race and religion, I don’t see any prospect of a meaningful economic upturn.

Granted that racist policy and structures cannot be replaced overnight, but such weaknesses must be recognised and there must be a political will to begin the process of their gradual and strategic phasing-out, while a more effective mechanism is introduced to raise the economic capability of the bumiputera.

Truthseeker: How can TDM (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) distribute wealth equally or equitably among all races in Malaysia when he can't reduce the wealth inequality among the Malays?

Those cronies still cream-off the wealth while the kampung folk will remain poor for the next 100 years.

OceanMaster: Simply put, Mahathir played his cards well. Daim, sneaky Malay elite and a billionaire, is Mahathir's chief engineer and Azmin is the circumstantial recruit.

Post-May 9, Mahathir is just going on with his good old playbook while Harapan partners could only watch. It’s Malay supremacy, business as usual.

Char Koay Teow: A case of Cogino - Change of Government in Name Only.

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