Three former Kuala Lumpur City Hall directors were appointed as advisors and a special functions officer in the city council last week. Their appointments have got tongues wagging.
An Aug 2 letter, sighted by Twentytwo13, stated that Datuk Ibrahim Yusoff had been appointed socio-economic development advisor, and Datuk Tan Keng Chok as project management and maintenance advisor, while Mohd Sori Hussain as special functions officer for information and communications technology (ICT).
The three-paragraph letter stated that the administrators of City Hall had appointed the three individuals through contract for services, effective Aug 1.
City Hall staff were urged to “cooperate” with the trio to ensure “they can carry out their duties smoothly to help City Hall develop Kuala Lumpur into a prosperous city for all by 2030.”
The letter was signed by City Hall’s human resources management director, Saifol Mazli Ahmad. Copies were sent to Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Kamarulzaman Mat Salleh and his executive directors for socio-economic development, project management, and management division.
The letter was also sent to City Hall’s department directors and its 11 branch office managers. Others who received the letter were the senior librarian of the Kuala Lumpur Library, and the principal of the council’s training institute.
Observers wonder if the unprecedented appointments were political. At the very least, they could be superfluous, given that City Hall already has directors, including executive directors, with similar portfolios.
Datuk Azmi Abdul Hamid and Mohamad Hamim serve as the council’s executive director (socio-economic and project management respectively). Muhamad Azwal Ab Azis is currently the ICT director.
Ibrahim was the former executive director for socio-economic development. He retired in 2020. Tan, who retired in 2016, was the council’s former executive director (management), while Mohd Sori once served as the council’s ICT director.
To date, neither City Hall, nor the Federal Territories Department, have made the appointments public. Twentytwo13 has reached out to City Hall for comments.
The appointment of the three also raises a slew of other questions. Chief among them are:
- Why did City Hall make the appointments? Was it a sole decision by the mayor?
- Were the appointments to reduce the workload of the council’s executive directors?
- Are the new advisors answerable to the current set of executive directors, or are they to give orders/advise them?
- What is the duration of their contracts?
- What are their specific roles and job scopes? Are they to provide advice to City Hall directors, or have they been appointed to advise Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who also oversees the workings of the council?
- How will these appointments affect the promotion of existing directors and officers in the council?
- Are the advisors being paid? If yes, who is paying their salaries and what are the perks that they enjoy?
City Hall was previously an agency under the Federal Territories Ministry. Last year, the ministry was restructured, and placed under the Prime Minister’s Department. This came following Anwar’s decision to have a leaner Cabinet.
“These appointments have never been done before. Of course, there has been a precedent of a retired City Hall executive director returning to serve as mayor on contract, but never has there been an instance of previous City Hall directors being appointed on contract as advisors and special functions officers,” said a source familiar with the matter.
“In any case, City Hall already has an advisory board comprising 13 individuals, and the board is headed by the mayor.”
It remains to be seen if City Hall’s move will be emulated by the other councils in the country.
“Surely, Kuala Lumpur is not the only city that should be developed into a prosperous metropolis. What about other cities, including Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, Shah Alam, and even Seremban?” asked another observer.
“Should these other councils be given special allocations by the government to enable them to make similar appointments?”
Main image: (From left) Mohamad, Tan, Kamarulzaman, Ibrahim and Mohd Sori.
