KUALA LUMPUR – The kerfuffle over Nurul Izzah Anwar’s appointment as a senior adviser to her father, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, can be solved with a simple redesignation, opined Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) president Muhammad Mohan.
Warning that Nurul Izzah reporting directly to Anwar gives “wrong signals” and might reflect badly on the nation’s administration, Mohan urged the prime minister to consider allowing the former Permatang Pauh MP to report to someone else within the Finance Ministry.
“Nurul Izzah should report to (former Petronas chief executive officer and president) Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican, who is Anwar’s lead advisor in the ministry,” he told The Vibes when contacted today.
“Let her work with him (Hassan) and they can function as a group of advisors instead of her dealing directly with (Anwar).
“We can understand that (Anwar) needs help, but the way it (Nurul Izzah’s appointment) has been done just needs a bit of recalibration, and then we can get on with the work.”
He also suggested that Nurul Izzah’s title be amended from senior economic and finance adviser to “senior adviser on compliance and good governance”, which would reflect her workload related to managing government contracts and tenders.
“Nurul Izzah is a very outstanding politician. Based on her track record, she will definitely do a good job (as an adviser) due to her high level of integrity, firmness, and commitment.
“Having her as part of the government is very good, but the point here is her link (to Anwar), which gives rise to the issue of nepotism,” he said.
Asserting that Nurul Izzah – who is also PKR vice-president – taking on the role without a salary does not negate the possibility of nepotistic practices taking place in the future, he said that it would be better for Anwar to rejig her position as soon as possible.
“Due to the father-daughter link between the duo, coupled with Nurul Izzah reporting directly to (Anwar), the matter of nepotism remains.
“To avoid a mess over close relatives (possibly) being given special privileges or contracts, I would recommend that (Anwar) designate her to another person and avoid direct dealings with her,” he said.
He also expressed concern over how the nation will perform in the watchdog group’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for this year if Anwar refuses to act on the objections voiced by many against Nurul Izzah’s appointment.
“The worry for us is that Malaysia might score even lower (because of the issues in Nurul Izzah’s appointment). We don’t have much time (to rectify the matter) as (the study) normally wraps up around September or October,” he noted.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Malaysia has obtained a lower score in the Transparency International CPI 2022, garnering 47 out of 100 points, dropping from 48 points the previous year.
Anwar has since defended his decision to appoint Nurul Izzah as his senior adviser, claiming that the move has nothing to do with nepotism.
He had previously said that Nurul Izzah’s appointment, which was reported on January 29 but had been in effect since January 3, was made based on her qualifications.
Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had subsequently called on Nurul Izzah to resign, saying that the “misplaced” appointment could be a “black spot” on her political journey to a possibly brighter future. – The Vibes, February 5, 2023
