Cronyism in Penang appointments?

The state government must explain the appointment of 26-year old Nur Fitriah Abdul Halim as Penang municipal councillor.

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Malay Congress (PMC) has questioned the state government’s rationale in appointing “novices” as councillors and maintaining the detrimental “race quota’ system mooted by Barisan Nasional.

Alluding to last week’s appointment of councillors, PMC president Rahmad Isahak said the recent induction had generated a lot of suspicion among certain quarters that a degree of cronyism was applied during the selection process.

This creates doubts about whether the state is upholding its pledges of competency, accountability and transparency (CAT), he added.

For starters, Rahmad said he was informed that the newly inducted councillor from DAP, Nur Fitriah Abdul Halim, aged 26, had barely joined the party before she was made councillor.

“The congress has nothing against Nur Fitriah. She may be capable in her own right, but what we are questioning is the due process of selection on the part of DAP.

“What has she contributed to the party or state before she was made a councillor?” he asked.

Rahmad added that if indeed it was true that Nur Fitriah has been a DAP member for less than a year, and is yet to serve the state in any other capacity, then the Penang government could be making a mockery out of the selection process of councillors.

“This indirectly hampers Nur Fitriah as well, as she will need to learn her duties very fast and cope with the fresh demands from the ratepayers,” he said.

Secondly, Rahmad said in this age of competency, councillors should not be appointed just to fulfill the race quota.

“If the state wants to continue on the same road like Barisan Nasional (BN) in appeasing the race quota, then they should appoint people based on their experience, qualifications and seniority.

“We should not repeat BN’s mistakes of appointing cronies,” he said.

Clarify questions

Rahmad pointed out that the municipal council was not a place to gain experience but “a place to perform” bearing mind that the needs of the ratepayers were growing by the day.

“Ratepayers are now demanding that councillors play a role in regulating development, defending the environment and coming out with innovative ways to improve the quality of life,” he said.

Rahmad also touched on the tenure of the councillors.

He said he had heard that some DAP councillors had served longer than the maximum five years and asked if this was because “they are cronies of DAP leaders”.

“BN used cronyism for its own benefit in the past five decades and it has to a certain extent undermined the country’s competitiveness because the right persons for the jobs were often overlooked.

“We should never go back to the same road which BN undertook.

“We must be bold and make the right decisions with a long-term foresight,” Rahmad said adding that he hoped the government would clarify questions raised about the appointments.

FMT’s attempts to contact Penang Municipal Council president Patahiyah Ismail for comments were unsuccessful.