Kuala Lumpur, 3 October 2024 – The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) has updated its Pantau Kuasa website to reflect political appointments in Federal Statutory Bodies (FSBs) and Government Linked Companies (GLCs) during Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s administration. IDEAS strongly urges the government to reform the appointments process to ensure that qualified and independent directors are appointed to oversee these entities. 

We have tracked 135 FSBs and 283 GLCs across five administrations, from Prime Minister Najib Razak (PM-6) to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (PM-10). The FSB data was last updated in September 2024, while GLC data reflects appointments up to October 2023. Our data reveals that:

• The highest number of political appointments detected was during Najib Razak’s tenure as Prime Minister, with 301 appointees. 
• This was followed by Ismail Sabri (273 appointees) and Muhyiddin Yassin (186 appointees), despite both serving relatively short terms—15 months and 17 months, respectively. 
• In the current administration, 95 political appointments have been identified so far. This is as compared to a total of 117 political appointments revealed by Anwar Ibrahim in a parliamentary response recently. 

Our analysis of the FSBs highlights a continuation of political appointments under the current administration, with 79 such appointments made. Political representation remains significant within the unity government coalition, with the highest number of appointees coming from UMNO and PKR. Notably, UMNO (22 appointments) has almost as many appointments as PKR and Amanah combined (24 appointments). There are four key figures with multiple appointments: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Minister of Economy Rafizi Ramli, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and former Penang EXCO member Yeoh Soon Hin. 

This year, IDEAS added data on appointments to the 283 GLC subsidiaries of the FSBs that we track. Among these, IDEAS detected the highest number of political appointments during Prime Minister Ismail’s tenure, with 33 appointments, followed closely by the Najib Razak administration (32) and Muhyiddin Yassin administration (31). The two Pakatan Harapan-led administrations made significantly fewer appointments among these GLCs, with 16 under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and 13 under Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Additionally, three individuals have held more than four positions during this period, including Suhaili Abdul Rahman, who held seven appointments under PM Muhyiddin; Zahidi Zainul Abidin with five under PM Najib, and Mohd Salim Sharif, who held positions across the PM-6, PM-8, and PM-9 administrations. These findings come from tracking only a small fraction of GLCs, given that the Audit (Accounts of Companies) Order 2017 listed up to 1,858 GLCs. 

The persistence of political appointments in both FSBs and GLCs underscores the deep entrenchment of political influence in key sectors of Malaysia’s public sector governance. “Malaysia currently lacks a transparent, merit-based appointment mechanism. Appointments can be used for political gain and for dishing out sinecures. It can result in poor oversight and management of these entities, further eroding public trust in Malaysia’s governance structures. Members of Parliament should scrutinise the performance of FSBs and GLCs through parliamentary committees, not by sitting directly in the boards of these entities.” said Aira Azhari, Acting CEO of IDEAS.

IDEAS urges the current government to strengthen its commitment to good governance and integrity. It is essential to reduce political appointments in FSBs and GLCs and implement a more transparent and merit-based appointment process. This is especially important as Malaysia addresses ongoing economic challenges and works towards sustainable national development.

“The updated findings on Pantau Kuasa show that political appointments remain a norm, even under the leadership of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Given the increasingly complex political landscape, where different coalitions might govern Malaysia in the future, it is important for appointments to public bodies to be made transparently, with measures such as a cooling-off period in place for appointing former politicians, to prevent potential conflict of interest. Such practices are essential if we want to restore trust and build stronger institutions moving forward,” Aira added.

IDEAS also acknowledges its partner, MyMP in this project. MyMP was instrumental in the data collecting and matching of names to identify political appointments. Chak Onn Lau, founder of MyMP, added “When IDEAS invited us to collaborate, we couldn’t say no. The simple pitch of a list of politicians compared to a list of GLC and FSB directors is a great initiative we are proud to have helped with.” MyMP, which tracks the performance of MPs, also includes badges in its online scorecards identifying MPs who are political appointees in Pantau Kuasa. 

Pantau Kuasa is an active project monitoring political appointments and data is updated periodically. IDEAS encourages the public to participate by sharing any information they may have regarding political appointments or discrepancies. This input will help strengthen the transparency and accountability of public institutions. Public contributions and feedback can be submitted through the Pantau Kuasa website via a feedback form or email us at communications@ideas.org.my.

For further information, please visit the Pantau Kuasa website at www.pantaukuasa.com

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