March 22— Anwar Ibrahim’s push for reforms and good governance practice is seen as short-lived as the government continues assigning political appointees to head government-linked companies (GLCs).
Anwar’s administration has come under fire and ridicule from netizens and civic groups, who say this practice is inconsistent with their election manifesto as well as previous attacks on political appointments.
Many are urging the government to justify these political appointments, saying that the entire GLC ecosystem needs to be reviewed since these companies are custodians of public resources.
To instill confidence in the investors, however small a political appointment, even if it’s just as a member of an advisory board, it needs to be related to the appointees’ expertise and experience.
Bersih chief Thomas Fann expressed regret that Anwar’s government was continuing the practice of appointing politicians to GLCs despite the PKR president’s push for reforms over the past two decades.
He said political appointments smacked of political patronage and was a disservice to voters, especially if it involves currently elected representatives.
Last week, deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said all political appointments to GLCs were subject to scrutiny by the coalition government’s secretariat, led by Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, who himself has been appointed as MARA Chairman.
New Malaysia Times takes a closer look at who these appointees are.
Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub (UMNO) — Chairman of Felcra
Asraf Wajidi Dusuki (UMNO) — Chairman of MARA
Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR) — Adviser to the Ministry of Finance
Nazri Aziz (UMNO) — Ambassador of Malaysia to the United States
Datuk Abdullah Sani bin Abdul Hamid (PKR) – Chairman of Tekun Nasional
Mohd Sany Hamzah (Amanah) — Deputy Chairman of Tekun Nasional
Tan Sri Bernard G. Dompok (UPKO) — Chairman of SME Corp
Dr. Faiz Abdullah — Chairman of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia (ISIS Malaysia)
Bakhtiar Wan Chik (PKR) — Chairman of MyCreative Ventures Sdn Bhd
Ahmad Sabki Yusof — Chairman of the Companies Commission of Malaysia
Anwar also appointed Foreign Ministry SecGen Datuk Amran Mohamed Zain, Finance Ministry SecGen Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican, Defence Ministry SecGen Datuk Seri Muez Abd Aziz, Professor Dr. Mohamed Aslam of IIUM, Professor Dr. Rozanah Ab Rahman of UPM, Strand Aerospace CEO Naguib Mohd Nor, V. Raman Narayanan of the Sunway Group and ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s Professor Dr. Tham Siew Yean to the ISIS Malaysia Board of Directors.
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