Amid increased scrutiny on the role of politicians in government-linked companies GLCs) under the new Perikatan Nasional government, a prominent economist has argued that there is nothing under the law which makes such appointments illegal.

Universiti Malaya professor of political economy Prof Edmund Terence Gomez (photo, above) said, however, that such appointments, which first gained prominence in the late 1980s during former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's first stint in power, had over the years been abused to serve the personal vested interests of politicians rather than the public good...