Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak had the highest number of political appointments, at 301, while Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has the second-lowest so far, at 95.

The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) ranked recent former prime ministers on their website Pantau Kuasa based on the number of political appointments made.

Its ranking from highest to lowest was: Najib (301), Ismail Sabri Yaakob (273), Muhyiddin Yassin (186), Anwar (95), and Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s second tenure (86).

“It is also important to note that Ismail and Muhyiddin were only in office for 15 months and 17 months respectively.

“So to have that high number of political appointments is particularly concerning…

Ideas public finance assistant research manager Doris Liew

“Whether they used political appointments as an avenue for political support during their administration,” said Ideas public finance assistant research manager Doris Liew at the website launch this morning.

Definition of political appointees

Ideas said they tracked 135 federal statutory bodies (FSBs) and 283 government-linked companies (GLCs) from the Najib to Anwar administrations.

Political appointments were defined as individuals appointed to the boards of FSBs or GLCs who are:

  • In legislative positions such as MPs, assemblypersons, and senators.

  • In executive positions such as federal ministers, chief ministers, and state executive council members.

  • Political party leaders such as central committee members and division chiefs.

  • Losing candidates in a general election.

Appointments by parties

The largest number of political appointments in FSBs during Anwar’s administration have gone to Umno (22) and PKR (17).

“Notably, Umno (22) has almost as many appointments as PKR (17) and Amanah (seven) combined.

“There are four key figures with multiple appointments: Anwar, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and former Penang executive council member Yeoh Soon Hin,” Ideas said in a statement.

With the addition of GLCs, PKR came out on top with 26 appointments, followed by Umno (24), DAP (13), and Amanah (10).

Ideas noted that it identified only 95 political appointments in the Anwar administration so far, compared to the 117 the prime minister revealed in a parliamentary response in July.

“It is important to note that this list is not exhaustive as we are not able to track all the GLCs in the ecosystem,” Liew said.

Over the five administrations, it was found that Umno had the highest number of political appointments at 410, followed by Bersatu (116), PAS (53), DAP (45), MCA (43), PKR (33), PBB (22), and Amanah (15).

Performance-based appointments

Last year, Zahid defended political appointments, saying those unable to contribute would not be appointed.

He added that all appointments are based on cabinet guidelines and advice from the prime minister.

Deputy Prime Minister and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi

When the Anwar government took control after the 15th general election, it terminated the contracts of all chairpersons and board members made through political appointments in government-linked bodies.

The public is encouraged to participate in the Pantau Kuasa initiative by sharing relevant information at its website.

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