by Ranjit Singh
THE ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) government has ordered the removal of the heads of a few government agencies who were appointed by the previous PH administration.
Among the casualties was Tan Sri Bakke Salleh, chairman of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), according to Singapore Straits Times. Bakke, who has had an illustrious corporate career, had been the deputy chairman of Sime Darby Plantations Bhd and its managing director before taking up the MPOB appointment.
Bakke was appointed as chairman of MPOB on July 31, 2018, for a two-year term. However, it had been ended prematurely by the newly-minted PN government
PN is under the stewardship of prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, which effectively took the reins of power in March after former prime minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad resigned abruptly and caused his PH government to collapse. Many have questioned the legality of the PN government as it was not elected through the ballot box.
The Singapore daily reported that the change was ‘necessary to appease supporters across a wide range of political bases whose factions were not rewarded with ministerial positions.’ The PN government has been criticised for having 70 as ministers or deputies, far more than the 55 under PH.
Bakke, who was at one time chairman of troubled state firm 1 Malaysia Development Bhd, resigned in 2009 after it was discovered that 1MDB had given out a US$700 mil loan to Petro Saudi which did not go through proper channels. He had been a vocal critic of 1MDB.
“Many of those who had been appointed to key positions in the government previously under Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2009-2018 are now expected to make a comeback under the PN administration,” said the Singapore daily.
It was also reported that Khazanah Research Institute (KRI) chairman Datuk Nungsari Ahmad Radhi was told to leave the think-tank run by sovereign wealth fund Khazanah after penning an open letter, along with Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid – economic adviser to former premier Mahathir – for criticising the present government’s approach in handling the coronavirus pandemic.
Nungsari is also the current chairman of Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) and is expected to lose that position, too.
Datuk Azlan Hashim, who was part of the en bloc resignation in Khazanah Nasional Bhd under pressure from the Mahathir administration to step down in 2018 was also recently re-appointed to the sovereign wealth fund’s board.
It was also recently reported that the Human Resources Ministry had removed Human Resource Development Fund chairman Noor Farida Mohd Ariffin and five other directors who were appointed by PH to investigate alleged abuses under BN.
Earlier, the Cabinet ordered the removal of MARA chairman Dr Hasnita Hashim, a banker who chairs Maybank’s asset management arm, along with the entire council of corporate figures put in place by PH to restructure the agency tasked with aiding the Bumiputera community in business and trade. – April 6, 2020
