The Malaysian Insight

SEVERAL non-performing Sabah government-linked firms (GLCs) will be reviewed to be either downsized or shut down under the ongoing GLC reform, Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal said today.

He said the affected companies have either failed to make any profits for three years in a row or are burdened by huge operational costs.

Shafie also said three GLCs are in the process of being restructured after having strayed from their original roles.

The companies are Yayasan Sabah, Sawit Kinabalu, and the Sabah Land Development Board.

Shafie said they were given vast lands, huge allocations, and timber concessions by the past administration.   

“These firms were established to develop the health and education of the poor Sabahan folks. We found they have strayed from their objectives.

“I want them to return to their original roles,” he told reporters after opening the Sabah forum on institutional governance and GLC reform today.

However, Shafie said the restructuring of these firms would not involve the retrenchment of workers, as GLC heads must look within their organisations to fill understaffed units.

He took the example of the state Water Department, which absorbed over 1,300 workers from the six concessionaires that had their contracts terminated last January.

“The decision to terminate their contracts was also meant to provide some savings for the state government,” he said.

Shafie said the Warisan-led government also plans to set up new bodies through its reforms, such as the Sabah Marketing Board to help farmers sell their products. – March 25, 2019.