In response to C4 Center’s press statement “Anwar betrays reform by endorsing appointments for political loyalty” dated 27 May, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s aide Kamil Abdul Munim claimed that C4 Center misunderstood Anwar’s statement over political appointments.
Kamil stated that Anwar’s comments only applied to appointments for village chief positions, justifying it as a “token of appreciation for their commitment”.
The Center to Combat Corruption (C4 Center) is of the view that these statements further reveal the systemic problems of patronage down even to the local government level.
The appointment of village chiefs as a reward for party loyalty is still patronage and directly contradicts good governance principles, regardless of how it is termed.
It must be stated that there is a clear incentive for political parties to create patronage networks down to the local level. Village chiefs have the reach and ability to directly affect the voting choices of the communities they oversee.
As such, the risk is that they sway their communities’ voting choices in favour of the political party that placed them in their position of power -, irrespective of whether (or not) it was a “reward” or “token of appreciation.”
Furthermore, Anwar’s defences of political appointments to government-linked companies remain an issue unaddressed. The executive, through the prime minister and his party, has vast control over the country’s statutory bodies, government-linked companies and public institutions due to extremely under-regulated powers of appointment.
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With these latest statements admitting to and defending political appointments at the local level, the scale of executive power becomes even more apparent, highlighting a deeply entrenched system where political influence permeates nearly every layer of public administration and statutory authority.
Thus, it is of great worry that both the president and youth chief of PKR – a party supposedly championing reform – do not acknowledge the immensely detrimental impact of political appointments, even if, as they claim, it is merely at the “village chief” level.
Major doubts now arise regarding PKR’s actual commitment to reform, especially against recent revelations that money politics has become influential in the party.
During the recent party election campaign period, numerous statements were made by members regarding this matter.
Ousted PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli made several allusions to money politics, criticising PKR’s alignment with “several groups” whose practices “largely revolve around money and their eagerness to obtain positions.”
Subang MP Wong Chen also stated that PKR has “a rotten political culture, and money politics has surfaced”.
Nurul Izzah, who is Anwar’s daughter and won her bid for the deputy presidency, stated that she would introduce measures to curb the culture of money politics in the party.
Are these revelations behind the delays in implementing the long-awaited political funding act, which would curb patronage and money politics?
C4 Center stands by its criticisms of Anwar and maintains that political appointments based on party loyalty, even down to leadership positions at the local level, is patronage politics.
PKR has previously positioned itself as the party of reform but these statements demonstrate otherwise.
Institutional reforms are sorely needed to curb the further degradation of Malaysia’s political culture. This would entail the tabling of a political funding act, as well as the reinstating of local council elections to return autonomy to local communities to choose their leaders, divorced from patronage. – C4 Center
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
