Former transport minister Anthony Loke criticised the removal of two professionals as authority members from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) board.
Venting his frustration in a Facebook posting today, he revealed that one of them, Afzal Abdul Rahim, had volunteered his service on a pro-bono basis and refused to accept any allowances.\
“Afzal is the CEO of TIME dotCom, independent board member of CIMB Group and a licensed FAA commercial pilot.
“When I first met him, he was very critical about CAAM’s efficiency but very passionate about aviation related issues. I then invited him to join the board of CAAM to turn his criticism to constructive suggestions to improve CAAM.
“He agreed but with one condition. He said he wants to do national service and serve on a pro bono basis. He refused to accept any allowances from CAAM,” he added.
Loke said the other person to be removed was former Bar Council chairperson Ragunath Kesavan, who was appointed to CAMM despite being a staunch critic of the Pakatan Harapan government.
“Ragunath came in later as we needed someone with strong legal background,” he explained.
Loke, who is also the DAP organising secretary, said he understands that it is the prerogative of the sitting minister to appoint or remove those in statutory bodies under his portfolio.
“(But) can’t they differentiate between professional and political appointees?” he asked.
Loke pointed out that he did not remove any professional or non-politician appointed by his predecessor during his tenure as transport minister.
“Are we asking too much to have some independent minds and critical voices within the government structure?
“Perhaps. Like what (Prime Minister) Tan Sri Muhyiddin (Yassin) said…’This is not the government that you voted for’,” he added.
The Perikatan Nasional government had come into power following the collapse of the 21-month-old Pakatan Harapan government following a series of defections.
During a recent televised address on the Covid-19 outbreak, Muhyiddin had assured Malaysians that his government cared for them despite not having been voted into office.
Malaysiakini has contacted Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong for comment
MP: Expedite setting up of agency for children
Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh has urged the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry to expedite the establishment of an agency for children.
Hannah (above), who is the former deputy minister of the ministry, said this is to ensure that the 30 percent children population in Malaysia is protected from harm.
“We have entered the third week of the movement control order (MCO) yet very little has been heard concerning childcare from the minister and her deputy apart from their promotion of #WanitaCegahCovid19.
“I urge them to ensure basic services involving children are given priority by the Welfare Department as most violations of children can be fatal if ignored.
“And the respective child protectors and psychology officers must be relieved immediately from other additional responsibilities imposed on them,” Yeoh said.
She said the MCO brings along with it many consequences including the childcare arrangement for frontliners, urgent childcare arrangement for parents under quarantine, operations and survival of taska (kindergarten), domestic violence, and the feeding of hungry children, among others.
Yeoh said work involving the rescue of children and other related services would be affected as all of the Welfare Department’s manpower would be mobilised.
She added that the Social Welfare Department has been severely overloaded with work and lacks the capacity to efficiently manage a broad spectrum of clients or issues namely welfare, children, persons with disabilities, senior citizens and the homeless.
MKINI
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