Zaid calls for integrity test for ‘smart Malays’

In a post on X, former law minister Zaid Ibrahim has questioned the integrity rather than the intelligence of Malays at the highest levels of the corporate world.

PETALING JAYA: The government should introduce vigorous psychometric tests on “smart” people before putting them in positions of trust and responsibility, says former law minister Zaid Ibrahim.

“Just looking at their paper qualifications will not do. Even Jho Low is well qualified,” he said in a post on X today.

He said this test should cover cognitive ability, attitudes, personality and self-esteem.

“Are they susceptible to pressure from the top? Does the candidate have a history of extreme fondness for rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous?

“Are they hurrying to accumulate wealth, or do they view their role as a duty to the country first and foremost?” he said.

Zaid said former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi’s claim that he was a director “in name only” and was “powerless” is a typical response of “smart Malays” in top companies involved in mega scandals.

Referring to the infamous 1983 Bumiputra Malaysia Finance scandal, he said: “The once second-largest bank in Southeast Asia, and the pride of the Malays, had all the best brains in the country.

“In the aftermath of the scandals, they all said the same thing – they were powerless to stop the loans given to Carrian.

“Fast forward 20 years, we heard that the smart Malays on the board of Malaysia Airlines could not stop the financial scandals, (with the company losing) more than RM12 billion.”

He said Tabung Haji was also in the hands of “smart Malays” in 2015 when it lost RM4 billion.

Zaid said former prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman once dismissed a suggestion that he was unwilling to push the Malays into business.

“He just wanted the Malays to learn that entrepreneurs and businesses take time to succeed. Let them take their time.

“Yet, some smart Malays are in a hurry. You can’t blame them when they mingle daily with rich towkays and powerful politicians.

“When deals worth millions are made in front of them, the urge to do well in the shortest possible time is overwhelming, but that is anathema to serving the interests of the country and the people,” he said.