DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang has urged the cabinet to veto the controversial appointment of Mohd Isa Abdul Samad as acting chairperson of the Land Public Transport Commission (Spad), forewarning more backlash and even nationwide protests if it does not do so.

Putrajaya announced its decision to move Isa, formerly Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) chairperson, to the Spad post on June 19.

“The prime mlinister and the cabinet should be convinced by now that the appointment of Isa as acting chairperson of Spad is the most unpopular appointment of a GLC (government-linked company) chairperson.

“If the cabinet does not have the moral and political courage to do what is right for the country to veto Najib’s appointment of Isa to head SPAD, then the 36 Ministers must expect the protests against Isa’s appointment to snowball into a national movement which would receive the support of Malaysians who are fed up with rampant corruption and blatant cronyism under the Umno or Barisan Nasional government,” Lim said in a statement today.

The cabinet is due to meet tomorrow.

Yesterday, the Klang Valley Taxi Drivers Action Committee announced a protest against Isa’s appointment, The Malaysian Insight reported.

"We want someone cleaner to chair Spad. To us, bringing in another politician as chairperson, like what had happened at Felda, is just a new political colonisation of Spad,” the action committee’s chairperson Zailani Isausuludin said, adding that 800 drivers are expected at the July 3 protest at the Petaling Jaya Civic Hall.

Isa is the MP for Jempol in Negeri Sembilan.

Anak reiterates warning to the PM

National Felda Settlers' Children's Association (Anak) president Mazlan Aliman, who previously warned Najib against appointing Isa to helm FGV, has come forth to once again warn the prime minister to drop Isa from Spad.

However, Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri has defended the move, saying Spad has sufficient checks and balances in place as it is a statutory body that is under the Prime Minister's Department.

Meanwhile, Lim took issue with Najib’s appointment of former minister in Prime Minister’s Department Idris Jala as an “independent party” to solve problems at FGV.

Najib announced on June 14, five days before Isa was moved to Spad, that Idris had completed his report on FGV.

“Idris should clarify what ‘governance quantum leap’ he has in mind for Spad with his ‘musical chair’ proposition for Isa to be moved from FGV to Spad,” Lim said in the statement.

Isa's tenure has come under intense scrutiny after the FGV board instructed company CEO Zakaria Arshad and three other officers to go on leave pending internal investigations.

Following this, Zakaria struck back, claiming that he had tried to stop "ridiculous" investments sought by the board, valued at hundreds of millions of ringgit, which were unrelated to FGV's core business. The FGV board has denied this.

Last week, both Isa and his wife, Bibi Sharliza Mohd Khalid, were questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for more than three hours, as part of the commission’s investigation into graft allegations in FGV.