Government-linked investment companies (GLICs) and government-linked companies (GLCs) have a large presence in the Malaysian economy. A study published by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) estimated that the seven GLICs collectively owned at least 42% of total market capitalisation amongst listed firms in Bursa Malaysia and have a minority interest in at least 68,000 companies (Gomez et al., 2018).

The large presence of GLICs and GLCs in the domestic economy raised concerns over the quality and transparency of their directorial appointments. This particular issue gained greater attention following the exposure of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal. 1MDB was formed in 2009 a few months after Datuk Seri Najib Razak became Prime Minister and was put under the ownership of Minister of Finance Incorporated (MoF Inc.), one of the seven GLICs. In a few years 1MDB became involved with several large-scale projects, such as Bandar Malaysia, and has raised billions of US dollars through multiple bond issuances.