A SLEW of new appointments to government-linked companies (GLC) were announced today, seeing the return of a corporate figure, an Umno senior politician and a former Bersatu minister.

Former education minister and Umno vice-president Mahdzir Khalid has been appointed as Tenaga Nasional Bhd chairman effective May 12.

He will replace Ahmad Badri Mohd Zahir, who has moved on to become the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) chairman on May 1.

It was reported previously that the TNB chairman’s position was offered to Umno deputy president Mohamad Hassan, who had turned it down.

This was followed by news of the appointment of corporate figure Mohd Bakke Salleh as the chairman of Telekom Malaysia (TM) effective May 11, 2020.

He will replace Rosli Man, who has resigned after helming the telco since December 2018.

“Bakke is a highly respected corporate figure with extensive experience, known for upholding governance and integrity.

“He brings a wealth of industry and commercial insights, which will broaden and enrich the board’s overall expertise,” said TM’s board in a statement.

Meanwhile, Mara announced the appointment of former education minister Maszlee Malik as the Mara Corp advisory committee chairman effective May 15.

The announcement was made by newly appointed Mara chairman Azizah Mohd Dun, who is also Beaufort MP.

Also appointed to the committee are Mohd Rafiq Naizamohideen, Ab Rakib Ahmad, Ahri Hashim dan Shahridan Faiez.

Also appointed was Syed Muhamad Syed Kadir as Mara Corp chairman.

Bersatu man Maszlee was the education minister under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government but was asked by then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to step down in January this year.

The new Perikatan Nasional government has made wholesale changes to GLCs by removing PH’s appointees and replacing them with their own. – May 8, 2020.