Chow Kon Yeow, the chief minister of Penang, announced that Chief Minister Incorporated (CMI) will begin operating independently from July 1, 2026, with its audited accounts expected to be tabled in the Penang assembly starting next year.
Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said CMI was established under the Chief Minister Incorporated Enactment 2009, under which it functioned as a unit within the state economic planning unit .
GEORGE TOWN: Chief Minister Incorporated will begin operating independently from July 1, with its audited accounts expected to be tabled in the Penang assembly starting next year. In his winding-up speech at the state assembly today, chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said the first financial report would cover the six months ending Dec 31, 2026, and would be audited by the auditor-general before being tabled in the state assembly in 2027.
He was responding to opposition leader Fauzi Yusoff and Izhar Shah Ariff Shah , who raised questions about CMI’s auditing, revenue and state grants. On Monday, The Star reported that Fauzi questioned why Chow had failed to table the financial statements and auditor-general’s report on the accounts, even though amendments to the Chief Minister Incorporated Enactment 2009 required the chief minister to do so.
While CMI oversees state government-linked companies, it previously operated without separate audited accounts being tabled in the assembly. Chow said CMI was established under the 2009 enactment, under which it functioned as a unit within the state economic planning unit. The enactment did not empower CMI to open separate accounts, prepare its own financial statements or carry out separate audits. Its finances, operating budget and revenue were supervised by the state secretary’s office.
Chow said the state later reviewed the arrangement and found that “something was not right”, leading to the 2021 amendments, which allowed CMI to operate as a separate, private limited company with its own staff, accounts and audit process. However, he said the transition could not be carried out immediately because of the Covid-19 pandemic and cost implications, as well as the need to restructure the organisation, as CMI had only 12 staff members from 2022 to 2024.
Chow said CMI’s board approved filling 35 critical positions in stages this year, including an accountant, assistant accountant, human resource officer and legal officer. An auditor is expected to report for duty on June 3. He said several governance committees had also been formed under CMI, including committees for finance, human resources, internal audit, procurement, strategic investment and project monitoring.
Chow said while CMI would begin operating independently from July 1, all revenue would still be channelled to the state treasury until December. From January 2027, the revenue will be credited directly into CMI’s own account. He said CMI had channelled RM266.8 million to the state government from 2013 to April 30 this year.
“That is the revenue obtained through CMI’s efforts. RM266.8 million. Not even a billion, let alone a trillion,” he said. CMI first came under scrutiny in 2019, after it was revealed that it had no separate accounts or board members.
At the time, academic Terence Gomez told FMT that state governments should make the accounts of their state investment arms public. He said no Menteri Besar Incorporated or Chief Minister Incorporated entity had, up to then, revealed its accounts for public scrutiny. He said such entities should disclose their accounts in the interest of transparency.
Penang Chief Minister Incorporated Audited Accounts State Assembly Auditor-General State Secretary's Office State Economic Planning Unit Chief Minister Enactment 2009 State Grants Revenue Operation Separate Audits Financial Statements Private Limited Company Staff Accounts 2026 2021 Amendments Something Was Not Right
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