‘How much wasted to reward Umno cronies?’

Anwar Ibrahim wants to know how many Umno cronies Najib Tun Razak intends to “reward”, and the burden it will place on the rakyat.

UPDATED

KUALA LUMPUR: The past few weeks have seen the Najib Tun Razak’s administration “rewarding” several Barisan Nasional politicians with top positions, and this has drawn the ire of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

“How much of the taxpayers’ money is being spent on rewarding them? How much of a burden has been put on the rakyat, and how many people are Umno rewarding?” the PKR de facto leader demanded in a press conference today.

Last month, former tourism minister Ng Yen Yen assumed the chairperson’s post at the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board, after her party MCA decided not to field her in the general election.

Former information, communications and culture minister Rais Yatim, who was similarly overlooked by Umno in the May 5 polls, was appointed International Islamic University Malaysia’s (UIA) president, effective June 2.

Meanwhile, Baling MP Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, who was not included in the Cabinet lineup, was appointed as chairman of Lembaga Tabung Haji, which has funds reportedly worth RM35 billion.

Former Johor MB Abdul Ghani Othman, who contested and lost the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat to DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang, was recently made chairman of Sime Darby – one of the world’s largest listed plantations in the world.

Other Umno politicians have been reportedly given positions in lucrative government-linked companies such as Petronas, Telekom Malaysia, and MARA.

“We are worried about the appointments of these former ministers. It’s too much, and this shows that (the positions) are meant to reward them… there are too many of them, all given lucrative gifts,” said Anwar.

“These people are unqualified, there is no need for them to be given these positions,” he stressed.

It was reported that the cushy jobs are Najib’s “gifts” for the political veterans in return for their loyalty, particularly those who were dropped in the election to make way for younger, more “winnable” candidates.

With one eye on the Umno polls, and his position at risk of being challenged, Najib is doing all he can to pacify those restless with the party’s direction since BN suffered its worst loss in GE13.

Meanwhile, in a separate press conference, PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hasan called for Abdul Azeez’s resignation from Tabung Haji, pointing out that the latter was a politician and “unqualified” to fill the position.

“We want government leaders to review or rescind his appointment as he is seen as undeserving of the responsibility given to him,” the Temerloh MP told reporters.