KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s government-linked companies (GLCs), established to drive industrialisation and spread economic development, have delivered uneven results due to weak governance, poor oversight and slow economic transformation, Datuk Mohd Yaakub Johari (
pic) said.
The University College Sabah Foundation (UCSF) chairman and Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) board member said Sabah’s GLCs were conceived during the Tan Sri Harris Salleh administration as development catalysts for strategic industries, but decades of uneven performance showed failures where governance and oversight were lacking.
Advertisement
He cited Sabah Energy Corporation Sdn Bhd as a positive example generating dividends for the state, while Sabah Forest Industries Sdn Bhd, meant to anchor the pulp and paper industry, collapsed under debt and inefficiencies before ceasing operations in 2016.
Speaking on TV Teh Tarik Podcast@SG, he said many failures stemmed from weak governance, inefficient operations, poor financial management and lack of oversight, and stressed clear separation of roles between the chairman, board and chief executive officer.
He welcomed recent KPI-based monitoring and quarterly reporting initiatives, supported comprehensive restructuring including possible closure of persistently non-performing entities, and called for stronger transparency, including an independent oversight mechanism and clearer long-term transformation direction.
