THE culture of politicians issuing support letters to obtain positions or projects must stop, said Transparency-International Malaysia (TI-M) president Muhammad Mohan.

“In a recently exposed case, a support letter was issued for a deputy minister’s son to be appointed as a board member of a company. That is nepotism,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“TI-M urges ministers, senior ministers and the prime minister to not even bother scribbling on such letters with comments but instead send these letters to the waste paper bin,” he added.

“This will send a strong message to the sender that this old culture of support letters is no more the culture of the government. The PM should give a clear message to his cabinet that such letters are banned.”

He also urged the chairmen and board members of government linked-companies to put their foot down and say no to such recommendations, in line with the principle of good governance.

Former Bersatu supreme council member Muhammad Faiz Naaman said support letters are a norm which has been in practice in politics for a long time now.

It is seen as a way for lawmakers or leaders to render help, he told The Malaysian Insight.

“What can be disputed is that the signatory or author of the letter has familial ties with the recipient. That can be taken as nepotism,” he said.

Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki also said in a brief Facebook post that the culture of support letters is unfair and should not be condoned.

Deputy Defence Minister Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz had written a letter to senior minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, seeking his support to have his son appointed to the Pharmaniaga Bhd board of directors.

The Bersatu man had made the request in a letter to Ismail Sabri, dated June 5.

The letter also contained a handwritten note by Ismail Sabri where he minuted to the chairman of the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) his nod for the appointment of Ikmal Hazlan.

Defending his deputy, Ismail Sabri said Ikmal Hisham could have just appointed his son to the board but he chose not to abuse his position.

Pharmaniaga is a subsidiary of Boustead Holdings Bhd. LTAT, in turn, holds a majority stake in Boustead and a smaller stake in Pharmaniaga.

Meanwhile, Pharmaniaga announced in a filing with Bursa Malaysia on August 3 that Azhar Ahmad, Najmil Faiz Mohamed Aris and Zulkifli Jafar have been appointed to the role of independent and non-executive directors, replacing retired members. 

Previously, a video of Bersatu Youth chief and Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal promising a letter of support in exchange for support in the Bersatu elections went viral on social media.

However, Wan Fayhsal had reportedly defended the move, claiming that he made the promise in the context of helping youths, especially those in rural areas, to get assistance provided by the government. – August 23, 2020.