SHAH ALAM: The Selangor menteri besar’s move to set up a state investment firm, Darul Ehsan Investment Group (DEIG) Sdn Bhd, is being questioned by not only the Barisan Nasional (BN), but also by the DAP as well.

DAP’s Damansara Utara assemblyman Yeo Bee Yin yesterday expressed concern about the brainchild of Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali, as DEIG had a free rein to manage the state’s RM6.3 billion assets without accountability.

The firm, a new entity incorporated to manage investments under Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI), is not subjected to any enactment and is not required to table its financial report to the state legislative assembly.

“We are talking about RM6.3 billion state assets under DEIG, a company which is not tied to any enactment, and this means they do not have to table its report to the assembly, which worries us.

“We haven’t seen, haven’t heard and are less confident of its administration and we hope there is a clear explanation on its mechanism and accountability,” Yeo told a press conference on the sidelines of the state legislature sitting yesteray.

Mohamed Azmin told the house yesterday that DEIG’s objective was to strengthen state assets and restructure all government-linked companies under MBI.

However, DAP’s Kinrara assemblyman Ng Sze Han said there was a need to review DEIG’s governance structure as it was only responsible to its board of directors.

BN’s Sungai Panjang assemblyman Budiman Zohdi, said that as a registered company, DEIG could make external loans outside the assembly’s knowledge and this was not good governance.

“When DEIG is set up under the Companies Act, it does not need to be audited by the state government and it does not have the responsibility to report to the assembly, which is different under MBI.

“More worrying is when it is set up under the Act, it can make loans which if not managed well, can affect the state government’s investment assets.” — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in digitaledge Daily, on August 19, 2015.