Politics should be a separate entity from businesses, which is not the direction Malaysia is moving in.
In light of the recent deluge of political appointees being assigned to sit on the board of directors of government-linked companies (GLCs), with the latest being the appointment of Tan Sri Noh Omar to be the chairman of petroleum-shipping firm MISC Bhd, LeInves PLT chief investment/research officer William Ng shared to FocusM that “it is better for listed GLCs to be disconnected from politics.”
“By keeping the two entities separate, the directors in charge of the businesses will be able to better focus on their business operations,” said Ng in response to the latest appointment.
As it stands, he also believes that the appointment of Noh will have minimal impact on the company’s financial future, being a non-executive chairman from a political party.
“Feels like he’s just taking a seat,” added Ng.
Noh was appointed as the chairman of MISC on June 1, with the company making the announcement through a filing on Bursa Malaysia. He succeeds Datuk Abdul Halim Mohyiddin, who is now redesignated as an independent non-executive chairman for the company.
Noh currently serves as the MP for Tanjung Karang, and has previously served as a minister for several portfolios, such as the Entrepreneur and Co-operative Development, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, and Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government.
He also serves as Selangor’s Umno chief.
At 4.17pm, MISC’s shares were last done at RM8.26, up 3 sen, with 2.05 million shares changing hands. At its current share price, the stock has rallied 46 sen over the past two weeks. – June 2, 2020
