Remember “Binti Ahmad Zahid”? She’s Now A UPM Board Member
Nurulhidayah’s appointment, despite being an alum, is not sitting well with many.
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Datuk Nurulhidayah Abdul Zahid is making headlines again.
The daughter of Deputy Prime Minister and UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was recently appointed to the Universiti Putra Malaysia’s (UPM) board of directors, and the rakyat are not happy about it.
In her appointment letter dated 2 January, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir wrote:
“We are pleased to appoint Datuk as a member of the UPM Board of Directors to represent a composition of knowledgable and experienced individuals in accordance with Section 18(1) of UPM’s constitution for a period of three years effective from 2 January, 2025, to January 1, 2028.
“We are confident that Datuk is capable of contributing and leading UPM towards achieving greater academic and organisational progress in line with the government’s aspiration of making Malaysia a centre of regional and international educational excellence.”
Netizens point their guns to her appointment
A netizen on X (formerly Twitter) disclosed the letter on their account, and expressed disdain toward’s Nurulhidayah’s appointment to the board.
Anak-anak orang UMNO ni memang semua nak kena bagi jawatan ke apa?
— CatsForPalestine (@KlutzyKucing) January 12, 2025
Belum abis lagi kita semua bising sebab anak Najib dilanrik ke Matrade now anak Zahid pula dilantik ke UPM.
Macam tak ada orang lain yg lebih layak pic.twitter.com/lDYx4XDDJc
“Must all children of UMNO’s top leader be given positions?” said X user CatsForPalestin (@KlutzyKucing).
“We’re not done yet with the appointment of Najib’s daughter to the MATRADE board, and now we’re faced with Zahid’s daughter’s appointment to UPM. As if nobody else is more deserving,” the X user said, referring to the appointment of Nooryana Najwa Najib to the board of the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation last year.
READ MORE: Najib’s Daughter Joins MATRADE Board: Merit Or Controversy?
Other netizens agreed with the post, implying that she was appointed through connections while some suggested other, more deserving people should have been appointed to prevent cronyism.
Meanwhile, more netizens expressed their disagreement after she wrote “Sireh pulang ke gagang. Berilmu berbakti. Alma Mater. Bismillah” on her Instagram Stories following the announcement of her appointment.
Nurulhidayah received backlash back in 2021, following her appointment to the SME Corporation’s board with netizens associating her appointment with favouritism.
Some of you might remember the time she was criticised for posting “binti Ahmad Zahid” on her Instagram Stories in 2020, where netizens believed she was parading her social status.
However, she explained that the post was directed to those who keep referring to her as “Zahid’s daughter” instead of using her full name.
An alumnus from 2002, Nurulhidayah holds a Master’s Degree in Communications from UPM and is also a an executive committee member of Wanita UMNO Malaysia.
She is also a co-founder of Teedo Hotel, a boutique hotel in the center of Kuala Lumpur, on Jalan Pudu.
Nurulhidayah is married to Datuk Saiful Nizam Mohd Yusoff, a Non-Executive Chairman at property development company Jiankun International Berhad, and is a mother to one daughter.
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