“I have declined the post,” Baldev Singh Gurchan Singh said briefly, when contacted by FMT.

Yesterday, Urimai secretary-general Satees Muniandy urged chief minister Chow Kon Yeow to explain the appointment of his deputy’s father-in-law as the head of the appeals board.

Satees, formerly DAP’s Bagan Dalam assemblyman, said Chow should explain on what basis Baldev was chosen to head the board.

“Are there no other suitable and knowledgeable persons in Penang, other than the deputy chief minister’s father in-law, to be appointed as chairman of the board? Is this not nepotism?” he said.

On Thursday, it was reported that the Penang legislative assembly had approved a motion to appoint six members to the board, with Baldev as chairman.

Former Bar Council president Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor was appointed as deputy. The other members are Harinder Singh Malkit Singh, Carolyn Oh, Nagarethinam Rengasamy Pillay and Regina Amalorpava Mary Aboorvasamy.

The motion, presented by Jagdeep himself, was unanimously approved.

Satees said that while Baldev may be a senior lawyer in Penang, the decision to appoint him when Jagdeep is serving as deputy chief minister showed the DAP-led state government’s “sheer hypocrisy” in upholding the principles of competency, accountability, and transparency.

The appeals board will look into appeals by those whose requests for information are rejected by any state-related departments.