PUTRAJAYA (Sept 3): The government will establish a Secretariat for the Rationalisation of Federal Statutory Bodies to address the issue of duplication of functions and save national funds.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the secretariat will also ensure that no public officer commits corruption in their positions by implementing civil service reforms.

"The proposal to reform civil servants needs to cover government, statutory bodies, and government companies. They see their positions as a bonus; they even flaunt their wealth gained with funds from the people and country.

"That's why monitoring should be thorough. I have recently decided that the Ministry of Finance (MOF) form a bilateral committee to update the rationalisation of statutory bodies," he said at the MOF staff assembly here on Tuesday.

Anwar said there are too many overlapping statutory bodies, and if they are difficult to rationalise, they would be reduced and streamlined.

He said that currently, there is too much overlapping in statutory bodies and government-related companies, resulting in financial redundancy and pushing towards uncontrolled spending.

"There are too many duplications of statutory bodies, which in turn gobbled up a lot of expenditures," he said.

The prime minister said the 'reform' measures include the appointment of chairmen and board members in statutory bodies to ensure a better level of financial management governance.

"When appointing a new chairman, first make sure the official car is reasonable, and whether the office should be refurbished if it is already in good order. [For] the office of the minister of finance, I said there is no need to change, there is no need to amend. Some of us forget this is a trust on us," he said.

Besides, Anwar said that each individual should not hold too many positions, and they should be given management and finance training.

The prime minister said an MOF officer would be stationed at each statutory body and government-related companies to monitor governance and prudent financial management.

"I am giving a warning that if there is any compromise, the MOF officer will be banned from sitting on any board after that to ensure greater accountability. If we do not give such instructions, the same situation will continue to happen," he said.

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