This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on July 27, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is concerned over the future of the country’s corporate sector following the offer by Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s board of directors to resign en masse.

“I didn’t know about their resignation but what I read is that they resigned on the issue of principle because Khazanah was never set up with the intention of restructuring the economy. It was never the raison d’etre of Khazanah,” Najib told reporters at the parliament lobby yesterday.

Najib said Khazanah was envisioned as a financial investment institution for the country, while the growth of bumiputera entrepreneurship is handled by Teraju Malaysia (a unit under the Prime Minister’s Department), and Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Bhd.

He said when wealth is created, Khazanah will give back good dividends, and develop new companies that enter the international market while strengthening the talent base in the country.

“For the country to prosper to become an advanced economy, you need talent, and institutions like Khazanah were designed like Singapore’s investment arm Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd to create talent.”