Impossible to know political leanings of more than 4,000 staff - Syed Saddiq

Amid claims of alleged cronyism over the appointment of 13 Bersatu Youth members as state sports development coordinators, Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (photo, above) says he has no control over the political affiliations of his staff.

"I feel there is a clear misunderstanding on this matter.

"Firstly, under the ministry, we have more than 4,000 staff and for me to know the political affiliations of every single person would be impossible," he told reporters after attending a nation-building dialogue hosted by Akademi Harimau Asia in Kuala Lumpur today.

"That is why recently I had a Perdana leadership fellow from among staunch BN supporters, who is still an Umno member and campaigned against me, become my fellow," said the Bersatu Youth chairperson.

Syed Saddiq also insisted that he never took action against any staff who are members of Umno or PAS.

"So, this is the same in this case. As long as the (application) process has been followed, that is the best way.

"We want to ensure that all parties will be given fair treatment," he said.

When pointed out that he had previously spoken out against political appointments in his ministry, Syed Saddiq reiterated that he has not discriminated against those found associated with a different political party.

A ministry letter announcing the appointment of 13 sports development coordinators, one for each state except Sarawak, was recently shared on social media.

Dated Aug 19, the letter stated that the officials were tasked with coordinating sports development programmes in their respective states, with a focus on paralympic sports.

The 13 coordinators were slated to report for duty at their respective state Youth and Sports departments on Aug 21.

Umno Youth’s Tebrau division later shared on its Facebook page an image purportedly of all 13 officials along with their names and Bersatu Youth positions.

It questioned if the appointments constituted “cronyism” and urged the MACC to investigate Syed Saddiq over the move. - Mkini