PUTRAJAYA, Sept 9 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said all public-private partnership (PPP) projects must adopt and be implemented with strict and uncompromising governance principles.
He said under the Madani Government, the PPP projects should also take into account the issue of workers’ wages, as well as aspects of family needs including housing, education and health according to the circumstances and company’s capabilities.
“This is what makes the PPP concept under the Madani Government special. This is how we should continue doing and to consider every social and public-private partnership,” he said when launching the Public-Private Partnership Master Plan (Pikas) 2030 in Cyberjaya near here today.
Present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, and Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari.
Pikas 2030 aims to strengthen governance and project management implemented through a public-private partnership approach as an effort to accelerate the country’s economic growth while also managing fiscal challenges.
Anwar said the main objective of the master plan is to provide a robust and sustainable public-private partnership landscape to drive the country’s well-being.
He said the Public-Private Partnership Unit (Ukas) will play a role in ensuring the approval and implementation of the projects would not be bound by excessive bureaucracy.
“It cannot deviate from the main principles of governance to avoid any fraud that undermines the impetus for change,” he said while acknowledging there is a need for Malaysia to improve several aspects of governance in launching project development in this country.
“We know of more than 510 PPP projects implemented, there are projects with some weaknesses (in terms of governance),” he said.
Previously, it was reported there were 510 PPP projects in Malaysia, which varied in scale and type and were managed under different models such as build-operate-transfer, build-lease-maintain-transfer, and others, depending on the nature and requirements of the project.
The government, through Ukas under the Prime Minister’s Department, oversees these projects to ensure they are implemented in line with national development objectives.
“We can be a great nation if we have the entire force in the society from the leaders to the people... and the private sector and the workers (in the public sector) having this common resolve to uplift our nation’s future, ensuring peace and security.
“I have a strong conviction that this nation, Malaysia, can emerge as a great nation,” he added.
— Bernama
