The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) wants state investment firm Khazanah Nasional Bhd to set its sights and invest more of its resources abroad instead of monopolising the domestic scene.

While it has invested in over 50 large companies within and outside Malaysia, 88.3 percent of these investments are in industries within the country, said PAC chairperson Azmi Khalid.

pac mrr2 highway meeting pc 110808 01 Since its incorporation in 1993, Khazanah - along with other government-linked companies with greater political access and financial muscle - had been criticised for pushing smaller domestic companies out of business opportunities.

"We do not want Khazanah to be monopolistic and disallow other companies to do business in the country," he told a press conference after a briefing on Khazanah by its chief executive officer Azman Mokhtar at Parliament this morning.

Expressing hopes for Khazanah to be Malaysia’s "flagship company", Azmi said for it to expand and bring more profits to itself and the government, it should invest in international markets where the biggest business opportunities reside.

Khazanah should also place all of its "troubled companies" under one roof so that they do not become a burden to it, he added.

If these companies cannot be turned around, Khazanah should consider selling them off, Azmi said further.

Azmi said there were previously 11 such troubled companies in the Khazanah stable that were in its "intensive care unit", but seven have been successfully rehabilitated.

Strategic partner for Proton

Touching on Proton, Azmi echoed calls made by other quarters for Khazanah and the government to find for the national car maker a strategic partner with which it could synergise and that would help it become a major power in the automobile industry.

Proton was churning out only a few hundreds of thousands of units, said Azmi, while other car makers such as BMW and Toyota were producing millions of units yearly.

"In whatever business, you need volume. Volume is the game," said Azmi, who noted that while there used to be 60 automobile makers in the world, mergers have resulted in the presence of only 12 major car companies.

In reference to the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) where Khazanah also has a stake, Azmi called on the company to keep in mind its social obligations of developing the human resource capabilities of local companies instead of merely focusing on property development.

To that end, said Azmi, Khazanah should not go about recruiting a mass of foreign workers for its property development operations to the neglect of domestic labour needs and the goal of developing a skilled and educated domestic labour force as well as a "hi-tech and value-added" economy.

Azmi said Khazanah should also put in place ways to ensure all procurement made by and contracts entered into by its subsidiaries are done in a transparent and open manner.

"The view of the public is that such purchases and contracts are not (made in a) transparent (manner)," he added.