Chief sec’s appointment as
Energy Commission
chairman raises questions,
says Ong
Ex-deputy minister Ong Kian Ming says chief secretary to the government Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar’s appointment is inconsistent with governance guidelines for statutory boards.
Ong Kian Ming said the appointment is inconsistent with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s emphasis on governance, based on guidelines for managing federal statutory bodies.
“This document provides guidelines for the appointment of individuals to the boards of statutory bodies, such as for the post of chairman, and includes (guidelines for) civil servants,” he said in a series of postings on X.
“Civil servants, especially from the finance ministry, sit on most, if not all, of the boards of the statutory bodies but not as the chairman of these boards.”
According to the guidelines, in a circular dated April 3, 2024, Clause 3.3.6 specifically states that the chairman should not be selected from among civil servants (pegawai awam).
This is to ensure that the individual can focus on their primary duties without being burdened by additional responsibilities related to the statutory board.
As such, Ong questioned the practicality of Shamsul managing both his duties as the chief civil servant and the chairman of a statutory body.
“I don’t recall any (chief secretary to the government) being appointed as a chair of a statutory board while he was the chief secretary. Please correct me if I’m wrong,” the former Bangi MP said.
Shamsul’s appointment as the new chairman of the Energy Commission took effect on Jan 1.
He replaces former Gamuda Bhd deputy managing director Rashdan Yusof, who reportedly stepped down several months ago from the commission’s chairmanship.
No comments:
Post a Comment