The Johor government has been urged to explain its move to appoint deputy exco members for the first time, with certain quarters raising concerns about unnecessary expenditures and increased pressures on public funds.
Earlier today, Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi announced the appointment of 10 deputy exco members, which he said had received the consent of Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim.
The appointments are said to be part of efforts to strengthen the state government’s administrative capacity and its policy delivery, while aligning with the “Maju Johor 2030” framework.
The bulk of the appointed figures consist of Umno assemblypersons, with seven from the BN linchpin followed by two from MCA and one from MIC.
Eight Pakatan Harapan assemblypersons - six from DAP as well as one each from PKR and Amanah - make up the opposition bench in Johor against BN’s 48 seats.
Political arrangement?
DAP’s Senai assemblyperson Wong Bor Yang pressed the Johor government to detail the motive behind the new positions, their scope of duties, and any financial implications arising from the matter.
Referencing Johor’s Budget 2026 where the state government is projected to obtain a revenue of RM2.55 billion while expenditure could reach RM2.546 billion, Wong said that the all-time high revenue should be viewed while acknowledging the high expenditure level.
“The rakyat certainly hope that the increase in state revenue is translated into more efficient administration and better public services, not the addition of positions and administrative costs,” he said in a statement.
Wong cautioned that while the inaugural appointments are claimed to be for strengthening the efficiency of the state government’s administration, public perception could view the move as a “political arrangement” to grant positions to government assemblypersons.
He further argued that reducing bureaucracy and red tape should be prioritised instead of creating a new position with powers and functions that are not clearly outlined in the state constitution.
Such a situation, he asserted, will only create confusion in terms of jurisdiction and undermine administrative efficiency.
He also pointed out that since this is the first series of major political appointments following BN’s landslide victory at the Johor election, the matter carries “significant meaning and implications” for the state administration’s direction.
“If, after this, questions that should be answered by the exco themselves can be handed over to the deputy to answer, then the checks-and-balances function of the state legislative assembly will become weaker,” he added.
‘Waste of money’
Expressing similar sentiments, Muda president Amira Aisya Abd Aziz blatantly labelled the appointments as a “waste of the people’s money,” accusing Onn of using such funds for the “distribution of political spoils.”
“Money that should be used for infrastructure development and the welfare of Bangsa Johor is instead being used to pay the salaries and pensions for exco and deputy exco members,” she lamented in a statement today.
“This is not a policy to strengthen the state’s administration - it is only a policy to strengthen BN using money from the people of Johor,” she alleged.
Both Wong and Amira, who is the former Puteri Wangsa assemblyperson, also reiterated concerns over the decision to allow appointed assemblypersons in the state legislature.
Wong said that the addition of these positions likewise involves the use of public funds and administrative costs, on top of the newly created deputy exco member posts.
Amira, meanwhile, linked the soon-to-be appointed assemblypersons directly to the deputy exco members’ appointments, arguing that on top of the latter, there will be further appointed assemblypersons who will “blindly support” BN.
On July 18, 10 assemblypersons took their oaths as state exco members, with six incumbent excos retained and four new faces appointed.
Similar to the breakdown for deputy exco members, the excos featured seven assemblypersons from Umno, including Onn, two from MCA and one from MIC. - Mkini
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