Lim Lip Eng
said Putrajaya has so far not given any explanation as to why there is a need
to have senior politicians fill in portfolios that are already covered. —
Picture by Saw Siow FengKUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 — The government must justify
the duplication of roles in appointing former and current politicians into
public office, otherwise the appointments are merely a waste of public funds,
Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng said today.
He said
Putrajaya has so far not given any explanation as to why there is a need to have
senior politicians fill in portfolios that are already covered by Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s administration.
Referring
to a written parliamentary reply by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department
Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, Lim said the government is spending over RM174,000
a month just on the salaries and allowances for seven political appointees.
“If they
have a solid reason for the appointments, I think the public will accept it. If
not, it is just a waste of public funds,” he said at a press conference here.
Lim’s
criticism comes at a time when the government is under fire for a laundry list
of fiscal mismanagement as highlighted by the Auditor-General’s 2012 Report
released earlier this month.
Among the
issues raised by the report include over RM11 million overpaid to national
telco Telekom Malaysia Berhad and the loss of some RM1.3 million in police
assets, which inspector-general of police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar claimed had
“fallen into the sea”.
In his
written reply, Shahan had listed a host of familiar names among the seven
political appointees, including ex-Information, Communication and Culture
Minister Tan Sri Rais Yatim, who is now a social and cultural adviser to the
government.
Also on the
list were Umno’s Datuk Seri Jamaluddin Jarjis as the prime minister’s adviser
and special envoy to the United States; ex-MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy
Vellu as special envoy to India and South India on Infrastructure; ex-MCA
president Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting as special prime ministerial envoy to China; and
Umno’s Datuk Mohd Johari Baharum as a special prime ministerial adviser on the
Northern Corridor economic project.
Completing
the list were Tan Sri Dr Abdullah Md Zin as religious adviser to the prime
minister and Datuk Seri Sharizat Abdul Jalil as adviser on women’s
entrepreneurial and professional development.
Their pay
packages range from RM20,000 a month to RM27,227.20 a month, Shahidan had said.
The
problem, Lim said today, was that all the appointees except for Rais and
ohd Johari held positions that were already being cared for by others who are
in government.
He
questioned Putrajaya’s special need for Jamaluddin, Samy Vellu or Ong,
noting that Malaysia has long established embassies or high commissions in the
US, India and China respectively.
The DAP
lawmaker also queried Dr Abdullah’s appointment when Najib had already
created a ministerial post under his Prime Minister’s Office to specifically
handle Islamic affairs.
Lim added
that Sharizat’s appointment made no sense as the Cabinet should not have
accepted her resignation as women, family and community development minister in
the first place if they felt she was an asset to the government.
“Why the
duplicity in the roles? Does it mean that the existing people who are handling
the portfolios cannot perform their jobs?” he said.
Related
news: ‘Why appoint Samy, Ong as special envoys?’
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/10/11/why-appoint-samy-ong-as-special-envoys/
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