by Theleaders | May 27, 2026 1:02 pm
KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — Subang MP Wong Chen has revealed his abrupt removal as the non-executive chairman of Malaysia Debt Ventures (MDV), despite leading the government-linked company (GLC) back to profitability during his three-year tenure.
In a statement today, Wong Chen said he was informed of the Ministry of Finance’s (MoF) decision yesterday, just before chairing what would be his final board meeting. The letter from the MoF, dated May 25, 2026, instructed that his chairmanship be terminated effective May 31.
Wong expressed disappointment over the manner of his dismissal, however, saying that the MoF did not communicate with him directly.
“MoF didn’t even bother to address the letter to me. Not even a phone call or an explanation for ending my tenure,” he said.
“For helping turn around a government financial institution, I got the boot from MoF with just five days’ notice.”
Wong was appointed to the role in May 2023. Today, he said he was initially reluctant to accept the post due to his political stance that members of parliament should not serve in GLCs, but did so as he was “directed to report for duty by the PM” to “clean up the mess.”
He described inheriting a financial institution in a “troubled state,” with MDV recording losses of RM18.6 million in 2022, which widened to RM56.6 million in 2023. He also noted that staff morale was low with a poor attrition rate at the time.
As chairman, Wong said he focused on providing “governance leadership,” which included a strict policy of insulating the bank from political interference.
“The very first thing I did was to cut out the undue influence of politicians and people in power. I didn’t return calls and WhatsApp messages from people of influence.
“Instead, I asked them to write me a formal letter if they had a request. Nobody did and after six months, nobody bothered me anymore,” he revealed.
Under his leadership, MDV returned to the black in 2024 with a modest profit of RM3.4 million. He added that profitability improved significantly in the 2025 financial year, more than doubling the previous year’s figures, though the official annual report is yet to be released.
Despite the sudden end to his service, Wong Chen said he has “absolutely no regrets” and described the experience as an honour.
“The MDV recovery also proves that with the right governance structures, all GLCs and GLICs (government-linked investment companies) can do the same,” he said.
Last week, Wong also alleged that his parliamentary office had been denied access to the MyKhas Portal, a government-managed system used to process constituency allocations and Projek Mesra Rakyat (PMR) applications.
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