KUALA LUMPUR: The appointment process of chairmen and members of boards of directors of Federal statutory bodies (BPP) will be further strengthened based on transparent criteria and undergo mandatory screenings by several national enforcement agencies.
The Prime Minister’s Office in a statement said this included reviews by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (SPRM) and the Insolvency Department, as well as screening by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM).
This, it said, was among the new guidelines to replace General Circular Number 3 of 1998, which was approved at today’s meeting of the Special Cabinet Committee on National Governance (JKKTN).
The guidelines, which saw reforms to the strengthening of governance, among other things, emphasised capacity development programmes for board members at BPPs.
It also strengthens the detection, supervision, and governance of BBP through a platform known as the Statutory Bodies System (SBSys) for periodic reporting to the Prime Minister.
“The statutory bodies are one of the important branches of the public sector and require good governance. The contribution of statutory bodies as public entities not only influences the country’s economic growth but also supports the implementation of strategies by central agencies and other government departments,“ read the statement from the PMO.
It said the JKKTN meeting discussed measures to strengthen the governance of statutory bodies through the enhancement of regulations and procedures for the management of these bodies.
Other guidelines also include strengthening the structure and composition of Board membership by requiring the involvement of the Implementation Coordination Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department (ICU JPM), especially for statutory bodies receiving allocations from the Five-Year Malaysia Plan (RMLT).
The guidelines also contain efforts to empower the role of Internal Audit comprehensively at the statutory body level, including statutory body companies and corporations.
According to the statement, the implementation of these guidelines supports the MADANI agenda through the empowerment of statutory bodies, which is an important branch of the public sector that requires good governance.
“Through ‘Pantau MADANI’, monitoring of statutory bodies will be carried out more effectively through the empowerment of the ICU JPM, Ministry of Finance, National Audit Department, and Performance Acceleration Coordination Unit (PACU JPM),“ read the statement.
In line with the principle of transparency, the statement said JKKTN also discussed the new format of asset declaration by members of the administration and Members of Parliament to be enforced, and that it would be soon presented to the Cabinet. -Bernama