C4 goes kaboom again - PM's aide hit
The Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Centre) suggested that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s aide, Kamil Abdul Munim, has failed in defending his leader, whom the watchdog accuses of abandoning reformist ideals.
C4 Centre said the political secretary’s statements further reveal the systemic problems of patronage, right down to the local government level.
Summary
Graft watchdog C4 Centre says PKR Youth chief Kamil Abdul Munim’s statements in defence of his party chief Anwar Ibrahim further reveal the systemic problems of patronage.
C4 Centre adds that it is a “great worry” that the two leaders of a party supposedly championing reform do not acknowledge the immensely detrimental impact of political appointments.
The Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Centre) suggested that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s aide, Kamil Abdul Munim, has failed in defending his leader, whom the watchdog accuses of abandoning reformist ideals.
C4 Centre said the political secretary’s statements further reveal the systemic problems of patronage, right down to the local government level.
“The appointment of village chiefs as a reward for party loyalty is still patronage and directly contradicts good governance principles, regardless of how it is termed.
“It must be stated that there is a clear incentive for political parties to create patronage networks down to the local level.
“Village chiefs have the reach and ability to directly affect the voting choices of the communities they oversee.
“As such, the risk is that they sway their communities’ voting choices in favour of the political party that placed them in their position of power, irrespective of whether or not it was a ‘reward’ or ‘token of appreciation’,” it added.
‘Village chiefs only’
Previously, Kamil claimed C4 Centre had misunderstood the context of the prime minister’s remarks during the recent PKR congress and was being rash in its criticism.
He said the political appointments mentioned by Anwar were only for village chief positions, so grassroots leaders can continue to serve as a bridge between the government and rakyat.
He added that Anwar is not using important positions like menteri besar and GLC CEO posts for such rewards.
However, C4 Centre, in its latest statement, said Anwar’s defences of political appointments to GLCs remain unaddressed.
“The executive, through the prime minister and his party, has vast control over the country’s statutory bodies, GLCs, and public institutions due to extremely underregulated powers of appointment.
“With these latest statements admitting to and defending political appointments at the local level, the scale of executive power becomes even more apparent, highlighting a deeply entrenched system where political influence permeates nearly every layer of public administration and statutory authority,” it added.
‘Major doubts on reform commitment’
Referring to both Anwar and Kamil, who are PKR president and Youth chief respectively, C4 Centre said it is a “great worry” that the president and Youth chief of a party supposedly championing reform do not acknowledge the immensely detrimental impact of political appointments, even if, as they claim, it is merely at the “village chief” level.
“Major doubts now arise regarding the PKR’s actual commitment to reform, especially against recent revelations that money politics has become influential in the party.
“During the recent party election campaign period, numerous statements were made by members regarding this matter.
“Ousted PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli made several allusions to money politics, criticising PKR’s alignment with ‘several groups’ whose practices ‘largely revolve around money and their eagerness to obtain positions’.
“Subang MP Wong Chen also stated that PKR has ‘a rotten political culture, and money politics has surfaced’.
“Nurul Izzah, who is Anwar’s daughter and won her bid for deputy presidency, stated that she would introduce measures to curb the culture of money politics in the party,” it added.
C4 Centre questioned if these revelations are behind the delays in implementing the long-awaited Political Funding Act, which would curb patronage and money politics.
“C4 Centre stands by its criticisms of Anwar and maintains that political appointments based on party loyalty, even leadership positions at the local level, are patronage politics.
“PKR has previously positioned itself as the party of reform, but these statements demonstrate otherwise. Institutional reforms are sorely needed in order to curb the further degradation of Malaysia’s political culture.
“This would entail the tabling of a Political Funding Act, as well as the reinstating of local council elections in order to return autonomy to local communities to choose their leaders, divorced from patronage,” it added.
