NETIZENS have trained their guns on Datuk Nurulhidayah, the daughter of Deputy Prime Minister and UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, following her recent appointment to the Universiti Putra Malaysia’s (UPM) board of directors.
In her appointment letter dated Jan 2, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir wrote:
“We are pleased to appoint Datuk as a member of the UPM Board of Directors to represent a composition of knowledgeable and experienced individuals in accordance with Section 18(1) of UPM’s Constitution for a period of three years effective from January 2, 2025, to January 1, 2028,
“We are confident that Datuk is capable of contributing and leading UPM towards achieving greater academic and organisational progress in line with the government’s aspiration of making Malaysia a centre of regional and international educational excellence.”
A netizen who disclosed the appointment letter on the X platform fumed about Nurul Hidayah’s appointment:
“Must all children of UMNO’s top leaders be given positions?” berated a self-proclaimed environmentalist CatsForPalestine (@KlutzyKucing).
Anak-anak orang UMNO ni memang semua nak kena bagi jawatan ke apa?
Belum abis lagi kita semua bising sebab anak Najib dilanrik ke Matrade now anak Zahid pula dilantik ke UPM.
Macam tak ada orang lain yg lebih layak pic.twitter.com/lDYx4XDDJc
— CatsForPalestine (@KlutzyKucing) January 12, 2025
“We’re not done yet with all the fuss about the appointment of Najib’s daughter to the MATRADE board yet we’re now faced with Zahid’s daughter appointment to UPM. As if nobody else is more deserving.”
Recall that Nurulhidayah received backlash on Jan 4, 2021 following her appointment to the SME Corporation’s board with netizens associating her appointment with favouritism.
“She literally used her position and privilege as the daughter of a powerful politician by personally sending her CV to a minister, and yet she had the goddamn audacity to post this shit on her Instagram,” lambasted K (@PointMHD)
She literally used her position and privilege as the daughter of a powerful politician by personally sending her CV to a minister, and yet she had the goddamn audacity to post this shit on her Instagram.
They are so disconnected from the reality to the extent it’s beyond parody. https://t.co/lgY8UM1FRW
— K (@PointMHD) January 4, 2021
“They are so disconnected from the reality to the extent it’s beyond parody.”
Eventually, Nurulhidayah who is an EXCO member of Wanita UMNO herself resigned from the post barely three months later on April 6, 2021. In an Instagram post to announce her resignation, she stated that although she voluntarily left the post, “valid positions with legitimate selection should be defended”.
View this post on Instagram
Nurulhidayah’s latest board appointment is again seen through political lenses following immense public discontent from the recent appointment of Nooryana Najwa Najib, the eldest daughter of disgraced former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak as director and board member of the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE).
“Nooryana’s directorship – made official by Najib’s lackey and MATRADE chairman Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican on Oct 16 – comes at a time when the nation is still recovering from the adversity of her father’s 1MDB scandal which has both financially crippled and has almost permanently tarnished Malaysia’s reputation,” lamented FocusM contributor Corruption Watch.
“Inadvertently, this has left many citizens disillusioned with current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s apparently weak Madani unity government.”
Understandably, brickbats are aplenty in CatsForPalestine’s tweet. – Jan 13, 2025
Main image credit: Nurulhidayah Ahmad Zahid Official/Facebook
