KINIBIZ In the November sitting of Parliament, Bandar Tun Razak MP Abdul Khalid Ibrahim asked in Parliament how much in annual funding has been channelled towards politicians between 1981 and 2014 from government-linked companies (GLCs) and whether there are any plans to stop the practice.

On Nov 17, 2015, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak stated that there are no specific annual allocations by GLCs on the matter and fund requests from political parties are treated the same way as those submitted by non-government organisations (NGOs).

“For your information, government-owned companies through the Finance Ministry Inc and GLCs do not have a specific annual allocation to be channelled to politicians or political parties,” said the prime minister in a written reply.

“However, when there is a request for contribution from the said parties, it will then be managed similar to how financial contributions are channelled by NGOs, that is based on the need of the organisation and the available balance in the budget for corporate social responsibility at the time the request is made,” he added.

The answer does not reveal anything new to those who have been tracking GLC doings for some time. However, it raises again a long-burning question: should GLCs be allowed to make political donations?

In simple terms, the answer should be no. By virtue of their direct link to the government, GLCs should be as far removed from politics as possible to reduce grey areas in which corruption risks are greater.

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This article was written by Khairie Hisyam.