And an academic thinks it is a scheme to reward his supporters in Umno.
Former Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah said Rauf needed to justify the appointment of the deputy exco members by providing their scope of duties.
“He must spell out the reason. Is it job creation for politicians? Or do they have a substantive role?” she asked.
Maria told FMT that Rauf needed to clarify whether the deputies’ roles differed from those of the existing staff in these departments. “What is it that these deputies can do that the staff can’t?”
Saying that having 10 executive councillors was akin to having a Cabinet in Melaka, she asked where the money to pay these deputies would come from.
Last night, Rauf named the 10 deputy exco members and the portfolios to which they were assigned. Eight of the 10 are from Barisan Nasional and two from Pakatan Harapan.
He had earlier described the composition of the deputy exco members as “attractive”, and said their appointments would allow assemblymen in the government bloc to play a more prominent role in the administration of the state.
Former Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj said it was unnecessary for exco members to have deputies as it would increase the government’s financial burden.
“I am not sure how much work exco members do that warrants them having deputies,” he said, adding that the funds would be better used elsewhere than on the salaries of the deputies.
He also questioned whether the appointments had been made “just for political purposes”.
Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid of Universiti Sains Malaysia said deputies were unnecessary, and Perikatan Nasional’s assemblymen should take Rauf to task by asking for a justification in the state assembly.
“It looks like a scheme to reward his supporters in his Umno camp. Also, the money could be put to better use,” he said.
Rauf had also expressed hope last night that the two PN assemblymen would join the state government before an anti-hopping law is tabled in the state assembly in July.
The Melaka Umno chief said if the two assemblymen agree to join his administration, Melaka will create history as the first state with “zero” opposition.