Opaque political appointments: A case for Parliament oversight

Another round of appointing politicians to government agencies, statutory bodies, and GLCs is currently taking place, leading to questions on whether Putrajaya’s appointments were the best people for the job and not for political expediency.

Exacerbating the problem was that Putrajaya has not been that forthcoming with some appointments. For instance, a leaked letter claimed that three politicians were put on the boards of Tekun Nasional and SME Corp. Malaysiakini’s queries to the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry on the matter went unanswered.

In the case of Umno women’s chief Noraini Ahmad (above), her appointment as...