Many Umno Linked Appointees Still In Office Pn Leader Claims

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A Perikatan Nasional leader has claimed that the relatively low number of political appointments made under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was misleading.
This was due to the continued presence of appointees from previous administrations - particularly those linked to Umno, said PN Federal Territories secretary Mahathir Mohd Rais.
Responding to an Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) report, he said Umno has historically dominated political appointments, with 410 individuals appointed across past administrations.
"If many Umno appointees, particularly those from the Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Muhyiddin Yassin administrations, continue to enjoy their roles, it suggests that the Anwar government’s approach might be more about maintaining the status quo than delivering on promises of reform," he said in a statement today.
ADSThe Ideas report indicated that Anwar has the second lowest political appointees rate compared to his predecessors.
The report's ranking from highest to lowest was: Najib Abdul Razak (301), Ismail Sabri (273), Muhyiddin (186), Anwar (95), and Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s second tenure (86).
Reform promises under scrutiny
The PN leader pointed out that Anwar previously highlighted the importance of thoroughly vetting political appointees, assuring that the MACC and other agencies were involved to maintain integrity.
ADS"But if the government has made a total of 117 political appointments by July, as Anwar had revealed, it raises concerns about the commitment to reducing such appointments, especially when juxtaposed with long-standing reform promises," he added.
Mahathir Mohd Rais said that for decades, Anwar and other prominent reform advocates like DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang have called for the elimination of political appointments to prioritise merit-based governance.
PN’s Mahathir Mohd Rais"But with continued political appointments and the potential retention of figures from previous administrations, the Pakatan Harapan-BN government is seen as following the same path as its predecessors," he added.
As such, he questioned whether the government is truly delivering on its promises to reform the system of political patronage or is continuing past practices under a new guise.
Citing Muhyiddin and Ismail Sabri's tenure as prime minister, Mahathir Mohd Rais claimed that the two leaders had steered the country out of the challenging Covid-19 pandemic through "swift decisions and appointments" made before Anwar was elected as the head of the government.
"To taint these efforts while presenting oneself as above reproach is not only unfair but disregards the critical context these leaders operated within,” he added. - Mkini

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