Not govt business to do business, says economist

PETALING JAYA: It is not the government’s business to get into business, said economist Ramon Navaratnam today.

Speaking to FMT, Ramon expressed relief that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had “finally prepared” and presented its report on 1MDB in Parliament.

“The PAC report has confirmed the deep suspicion in the public’s mind that the 1MDB was badly led and run.

“I wonder what government agencies were doing during the time the company (1MDB) was getting deeper and deeper into debt,” he said.

“The company has obviously disregarded basic fundamental rules of good governance and sound business principles.”

Ramon said the government must learn from the mistakes revealed in the report, adding that doing business was best left to businessmen.

“Business should be left to businessmen who can take risks and be prepared to lose their pants. The government cannot risk losing the pants of the taxpayer.

“Please take action against those who have abused our public trust,” Ramon said, expressing hope that there would be no more “1MDBs” lurking around.

He appealed to the government to initiate an investigation into all government linked companies that have heavy government guarantees for debt, and have large budget allocations to keep them going.

“Our country is at a watershed. We cannot afford anymore irresponsible and unsolicited financial disasters,” said Ramon.

Mukah Pages bring you trending news media with Free Malaysia Today http://ift.tt/23jxo4p