For close to 15 months, Datuk Seri Maimunah Mohd Sharif was Kuala Lumpur’s undisputed supremo. She strode through Menara DBKL 1 in Jalan Raja Laut with confidence – and with good reason.
The former United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) executive director was the first woman to hold the mayor’s post. She was personally handpicked by the prime minister, a nod to her long track record and global stature.
Yet at 2.45pm today, Maimunah, 64, will bid farewell to her staff and her office on Level 28 of Menara DBKL.
Just days ago, the rumour mill buzzed with talk that she might even be appointed a senator to fill one of the many vacancies in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Cabinet.
Instead, Petronas announced last night that Maimunah has been appointed its property adviser. Cue the slow hiss of a balloon deflating, as her new job centres on overseeing the Bandar Malaysia redevelopment – a project under KLCC Holdings Sdn Bhd.
Dress it up however you like, but her new role is undeniably a demotion.
Supportive statements may come thick and fast for now, but reality will bite when she finds herself returning to Menara DBKL – not as its head, but as someone seeking the new mayor’s green light on her proposals. She may soon learn the sting of a blue tick, or the indignity of waiting hours for a meeting.
Why was the two-year contract of someone personally chosen by the prime minister cut short so abruptly?
In her early days as mayor, she often said she had been happily retired, eager to return to her hometown of Kuala Pilah after her six-year UN posting.
“I really don’t know why the prime minister chose me,” she would joke.
But humility aside, she brought 39 years of expertise in town planning, urban regeneration and community-driven development. She had also been the first female president of the Seberang Prai Municipal Council and the former mayor of Penang Island City Council.
Still, while expectations were sky-high for KL’s first woman mayor, Maimunah did not quite deliver the impact many had hoped for. At best, she fared only slightly better than her predecessor, the forgettable Datuk Seri Kamarulzaman Mat Salleh, whose tenure also barely surpassed a year.
Her frequent overseas trips raised eyebrows. Her lack of decisiveness, stalled projects, and talk of a strained relationship with Federal Territories Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa are also cited as reasons for her downfall.
Insiders say Maimunah failed to play her political cards right. While she had mingled comfortably with world leaders during her UN days, Kuala Lumpur demanded a different kind of finesse – one that required her to take a quieter seat at the table.
One episode involved the February visit of her long-time friend, Emine Erdoğan, the First Lady of Türkiye. Maimunah was said to have outshone the prime minister’s wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. Emine had publicly congratulated her on X when she was appointed KL mayor in August 2024 – a gesture that did not go unnoticed.
I extend my heartfelt congratulations to my esteemed friend, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, the former Executive Director of UN-Habitat, on her appointment as the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital.
During her tenure at the United Nations, she shaped the future of cities around…
— Emine Erdoğan (@EmineErdogan) August 15, 2024
At least half the MPs in Kuala Lumpur reportedly did not see eye-to-eye with her. Some ministers and lawmakers were even made to wait up to two hours for meetings.
In politics, optics matter – and senior civil servants are expected to toe the line.
This entire episode, however, points to a deeper problem.
Putrajaya Corporation president Datuk Fadlun Mak Ujud was named this morning as Maimunah’s successor, but Kuala Lumpur’s search for the “ideal” candidate continues. The city still struggles to find someone with the capability, charisma and political instincts to propel it forward.
Kuala Lumpur is more than the Petronas Twin Towers or the glitter of Bukit Bintang. It is a city battling everyday woes: vanishing open spaces, traffic woes, poor first and last-mile connectivity, high-rise blocks squeezed onto slivers of land, endless parking headaches, recurring flash floods and questionable spending.
Leaders need time to find their footing. But once again, City Hall must brace for a fresh learning curve when Fadlun is sworn in tomorrow as the city’s 16th mayor.
Much of the federal capital remains unprepared for the influx of visitors expected during Visit Malaysia Year, which begins in less than two months.
Stakeholders point to numerous unresolved issues that Maimunah simply had no time to fix.
The truth is harsh: the mayor’s office has turned into a revolving door. Four mayors in just three years – matching the national record of four prime ministers since 2018.
It is ironic that an administration once fiercely critical of mayoral appointments during its opposition days now struggles to find appointees who can deliver.
Change may be constant, but Kuala Lumpur and the nation will not benefit from a revolving mayoralty.
The ship known as Kuala Lumpur needs a captain who is given trust, autonomy and time to steer through calm waters and rough seas alike.
It is hoped the new mayor possesses not just technical knowledge, but the political instinct and resilience needed to guide the city through the complex and occasionally muddy terrain ahead.
