PUTRAJAYA, Jan 5 — Subsidiaries under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry (KKDW) which are not generating profits will be closed or revamped as the ministry does not want to continue shouldering the burden.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also KKDW minister, said he had ordered all chairmen of agencies under the ministry to monitor the performance of their respective entities.
“Please turn them around. Those that are not profitable should find ways to contribute profit to the agency and KKDW.
“If not, my order is to close. This is very important so that we do not have to feed loss-making entities in our organisation,” he said when delivering his KKDW 2024 address, here, today.
Zahid said several subsidiaries under KKDW had been closed last year as they were not making profit and the list of companies will be announced in the coming Parliament sitting.
“There were already closures. We also offered buyout to the management of the companies concerned. We are giving them nominal payment for them to continue if they leave the ministry,” he said in a media conference after the ceremony.
Zahid said the move to change or shut down loss-making subsidiaries is a new model, adding that the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had already been informed.
He said Anwar has also ordered subsidiaries under the Minister of Finance Incorporated to carry out a similar approach.
Meanwhile, Zahid said in his address that Desa Madani aspiration was conceived based on the acronym of KKDW, which is skills (kemahiran) and knowledge (pengetahuan); effectiveness and efficiency; data and digital, as well as ‘wow-factor’, as an effort to catalyze the work of ministerial staff.
“We know this ministry is responsible for the progress of rural communities. For that, KKDW employees must have a level of understanding and knowledge as well as skills in all issues related to rural development,” he said.
He also put forward several approaches and targets that can be used as game-changer and high-impact programmes to be refined and discussed, including Rural to Global (D2G) programme.
“It aims to raise the potential of rural entrepreneurs’ products and services to be marketed not only in the country but also abroad,” he said.
— Bernama
