This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on May 14, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: While the market may see some short-term volatility as it factors in changes under a new government following the 14th general election on May 9, the outlook beyond that is positive, said heads of six government-linked investment companies (GLICs).

They are Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan of the Employees Provident Fund, Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad from Permodalan Nasional Bhd, Datuk Wan Kamaruzaman Wan Ahmad of Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan), Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin of Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera, Datuk Seri Johan Abdullah of Lembaga Tabung Haji and Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar from Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

They noted the emerging consensus of independent commentators, who see this as a historic opportunity to reset the nation’s economy.

“This, if executed well, we concluded, will result in not just a stronger economy but also in greater confidence to the markets, which will translate into better performance of our funds, for the ultimate benefit of the fund beneficiaries,” the six GLICs said in a joint statement last night.

The statement follows their maiden meeting with Tun Daim Zainuddin, the head of the newly set up council of eminent persons as announced by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Saturday, who invited and met with the chief executives of the six GLICs yesterday morning.

The GLICs said during the one-hour meeting Daim sought the views of the attendees on various matters pertaining to the economy and the markets including the outlook for the economy, the market and the ringgit.

“In the dialogue, Daim stressed the need for the respective funds to maintain professionalism in the interest of their beneficiaries, the nation and ultimately, the rakyat.

He reaffirmed the need to manage the respective funds professionally, transparently and with integrity.

“He also emphasised the importance of separation between professional management of the institutions and any undue interference from political or any other external parties. For funds that had political representation on their respective board of directors, Daim reaffirmed that this will be reviewed and changed, as required,” they added.

“As GLICs and trust institutions, we receive this message and reaffirmation very well, as part of our ongoing practice of strengthening governance and performance focus and accountability of our respective institutions.”

In these first 100 days, the council will be tapping into the GLICs and government-linked companies (GLCs) as appropriate, to assist in terms of information, resources and inputs in dealing with various issues laid out by the government. These issues include, inter alia, the review of specific funds and companies, the review of projects and contracts, and the issue of toll roads; areas where GLICs and GLCs will have specific and relevant expertise and resources.

“We see this as a very positive step of the process of a national reset from the standpoint of the economy and the markets. This will allow us to continue to improve in both the governance and performance aspects of managing our respective funds and institutions.”