KUALA LUMPUR – Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow must explain why the state’s deputy chief minister’s father-in-law was appointed to the Appeals Board, a Urimai leader said.
Urimai secretary-general Satees Muniandy questioned if nepotism was at play in the appointment of Datuk Baldev Singh Gurchan Singh, who is the father-in-law of Penang Deputy Chief Minister II Jagdeep Singh Deo, to chair the board that handles rejections of applications for information.
Satees, in a statement on Facebook, said the appointment showed the hypocrisy of the state administration.
“The chief minister must explain, under what specific reason (Jagdeep’s) father-in-law was selected to chair the board.
“Are there no other suitable candidates in Penang, besides the family of the deputy chief minister, to be appointed as the board’s chairman? Is this not nepotism?” said Satees, who was formerly with DAP and was Bagan Dalam assemblyman.
“(Baldev) may be an experienced lawyer, but appointing him, when his son-in-law is a serving deputy minister, shows how hypocritical the DAP government is in practising its CAT principles in its administration.”
The CAT principle stands for “cekap, amanah, dan telus” (efficient, trustworthy, and transparent), which has been used by the DAP-led state leadership since 2008.
As a state with active civil society groups, Satees said “hundreds” of other activists could have been appointed to be the check-and-balance on the state’s administration.
The Appeals Board is under Penang’s Freedom of Information Enactment 2010 and the appointment of its six members was approved recently by the Penang Legislative Assembly.
Besides Baldev, the board’s deputy chairman is Datuk Abdul Freed Abdul Gafood, while the remaining members are Carolyn Oh, Harinder Singh Malkit Singh, Datuk Nagarethinam Rengasamy Pillay, and Regina Amalorpava Mary Aboorvasamy.
The motion on their appointment was presented to the legislative assembly by Jagdeep on May 30 and received unanimous approval from legislators.
The board’s service term would last three years, starting June 1, 2024, until May 31, 2027. – June 1, 2024