Charles back as Span chairperson

Charles back as Span chairperson


Former Klang MP Charles Santiago has been reappointed as the National Water Service Commission (Span) chairperson.

He had previously served in the position from November 2018 until April 2020.

Charles' reappointment - effective March 20 - was announced in a Span statement today.

He is the first notable DAP leader to receive a political appointment under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government.

Span is an independent regulatory body for water supply and sewerage services in the peninsula as well as Labuan.

During his first term as Span chairperson, Charles had among others launched an integrity and anti-corruption framework.

The framework required water supply and sewerage companies to allocate at least 1 percent of their operational budget to combat graft and strengthen their corporate governance.

Charles previously said he had also pushed for Span to conduct special performance audits on water utilities, on top of its usual audit activities, and three companies have been audited so far.

DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke


Yesterday, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said that statutory and regulatory bodies were among those where Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is given flexibility in making political appointments.

Loke said this is so party leaders at all levels can play a role in helping the government.

Besides Charles, other political appointees from Pakatan Harapan include Husam Musa as the chairperson of Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad (SPNB) - a housing development government-linked company.

Anwar-loyalist Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid is also slated to be appointed as Tekun Nasional chairperson, with Hulu Langat MP Mohd Sany Hamzan as his deputy.