THE appointment of “hyper-busy” Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) supreme council member Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid as the new chairman and director for the Malaysian Bioeconomy Development Corporation (Bioeconomy Corporation) has raised eyebrows.
In a statement today, Bioeconomy Corporation said the appointment took effect on Jan 25, with the blessings of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
“Iskandar was appointed to succeed Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, who resigned on Sept 29 last year,” it said.
On Iskandar’s credentials, Bioeconomy Corporation said the former has 20 years’ experience in the corporate world, and had led various companies dealing with property and real estate investments, tourism, infrastructure, telecommunications and financial services.
It added that Iskandar also currently holds directorship at Miqhail Holdings Sdn Bhd, Property Builder (Kuala Kedah) Sdn Bhd and PT Pinang Witmas Sejati, while serving as the chairman of Perak Agro Oil Palm (Argoto Sdn Bhd).
“In terms of education background, he holds a Bachelor’s Degree in business and human resources from Edith Cowan University, Australia,” it added.
Does M’sia lack talent?
In the political arena, Iskandar serves as the Kuala Kangsar Bersatu division head since 2019 and became a supreme council member last year.
He also served as the political secretary to former Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, between 2018 and 2020.
“Bioeconomy Corporation looks forward to seeing the company progress under the leadership of Iskandar as the new director and chairman,” the statement said.
On related matter, UNI-Malaysia Labour Centre (UNI-MLC) said the Government should stop giving too many top positions to one individual as it will deprive other qualified individuals of opportunities.
“If one person leads too many organisations such as our government-linked companies (GLCs), would the person have time to focus on the job?
“This kind of policy should be reviewed. The Government makes it look like we lack talents to lead our GLCs, which is not true. There are many qualified and dynamic individuals out there who need such opportunities,” its president Datuk Mohamed Shafie BP Mammal told FocusM.
In his view, Shafie said a single individual should not hold more than two positions at different companies so as to enable them to focus at the role at hand.
“The people are watching all this. The Government should lead by example. Throw away petty politics and share the cake with all qualified people,” he remarked. – Feb 2, 2021
