GLCs Told Not To Bully Small Companies

PUTRAJAYA, March 13 (Bernama) -- Government-linked companies (GLCs) should embrace small companies to help them grow and not "bully" them, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today.

"It is in our leadership to embrace small players. There are a lot of companies that GLCs can help by catalysing projects for them," Abdullah said in his speech at the GLCs Transformation Progress Review March 2009 here.

Abdullah launched the GLCs transformation programme five years ago.

"In agriculture, the farmers say their land is finished when big companies come around. By right, the big guys should help them," he said.

Abdullah called on the GLCs to set up projects for small farmers whereby the crops will later be sold back to the GLCs.

Abdullah said GLCs should continue their corporate social responsibility.

"It is not enough just to have good financial records," he said.

Elsewhere, he reminded the GLCs not to have the habit of changing policies too often whereas some just wanted to make themselves "remembered."

Touching on GLCs transformation progress amid the economic crisis, Abdullah said the objectives and aspirations that have been set out to accomplish with the transformation program have not changed.

"If at all, they remain a clarion call to hold fast to our convictions to develop robust companies that are industry leaders, not only in Malaysia, but globally.

"It is important that we retain faith in our ability to survive and eventually prosper."

Abdullah noted that some GLCs still have substantial work to do, but throughout the campaign they stayed the course.

"We have successfully completed and launched all 10 key initiatives of the GLC transformation program.

"At present, we are starting to see tangible results, notwithstanding the current economic uncertainty."

Amongst them, Abdullah said for the first time in history, GLCs have consistently outperformed the Malaysian stock market index since the launch of the programme.

"We have also seen successful turnaround programmes for some companies that were once though to be impossible."

In its transformation plan, the government had aspired to create by 2015 the conditions under which all GLCs would be performing at the very least at par with their competitors and several regional, if not global champions.