PUTRAJAYA, Sept 3 — The government will establish the Secretariat for the Rationalisation of Federal Statutory Bodies to address the duplication of functions and save federal funds.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the secretariat will also ensure no public officer commits corruption, by implementing civil service reforms.
“The proposal to reform civil servants needs to cover government, statutory bodies, and government companies. They see their positions as a bonus, they even flaunt their wealth gained with funds from the people and country.
“That’s why monitoring should be thorough. I recently decided the Finance Ministry (MOF) will form a bilateral committee to update the rationalisation of statutory bodies,” he said at the MOF staff assembly here today.
Anwar said there are too many overlapping statutory bodies and if they cannot be rationalised, they will be reduced and streamlined.
He said overlapping functions result in financial redundancy and uncontrolled spending.
“There are too many duplications of statutory bodies which in turn gobbled up a lot of expenditure,” he said.
Anwar said the “reforms” include the appointment of chairmen and board members in statutory bodies to ensure better financial management governance.
“When appointing a new chairman, first make sure the official car (that comes with the position) is reasonable, and whether the office should be refurbished if it is already in good order. (For) the Finance Minister’s Office, I say there is no need to change, there is no need to amend..” he said.
Besides, Anwar said one person must not hold too many positions, and they should be given training in management and finance.
He said an MOF officer will be stationed at each statutory body and government-related firm to monitor governance and financial management.
“I am warning that if there is any compromise, the (MOF officer) will be banned from sitting on any board after that to ensure greater accountability. If we do not give such instructions, the (same) situation will continue to happen,” he said.
— Bernama
