By Emmanuel Samarathisa
MACHANG MP Datuk Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub has been named as a potential candidate to be the new chairman of airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, people familiar with the matter tell FocusM.
If Ahmad Jazlan of Umno accepted the post, he would need to resign from his post as chairman at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), which he took up on April 9 this year.
Discussions are ongoing but an offer letter is expected to be sent to Ahmad Jazlan soon, the source said.
Initially, the MAHB chairman post was offered to Padang Terap MP Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, but he opted for utilities giant Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB).
Mahdzir was appointed TNB chairman on May 8 after Umno deputy president and Rantau state assemblyman Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan declined the job.
These shifts in government-linked corporations come as part of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s plan to gift Perikatan Nasional MPs with plum jobs. PN is a loose coalition primarily consisting of Muhyiddin’s party Bersatu, Umno, PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak.
But it is not just MPs that stand to be rewarded. Defeated electoral candidates from any of the PN parties who still carry some clout may also be in the running for such privileged jobs.
For example, former Johor menteri besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, who lost his Pasir Gudang federal seat as well as Pernas state assembly seat in the 14th general election, was appointed Boustead Holdings Bhd chairman on April 30. – May 21, 2020
