Azalina resigns as PM's special adviser

Azalina Othman Said has submitted a letter of resignation as the prime minister's special adviser on law and human rights, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said today. 

In a statement, it said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had received the letter dated Aug 29, which gave notice of a month. 

"The one-month notice is to complete the tasks related to her staff, but during that time, Azalina will no longer work at the PMO as she has been given leave from Sept 1 until the end of her notice period at the end of the month," it added. 

Azalina, Umno's Pengerang MP, sparked an uproar last month by suggesting that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob replace the attorney-general as it is within his power to do so.

"Whoever is prime minister must make the attorney-general his man," she told Umno members who attended a special gathering where speakers took turns condemning the Federal Court decision on Aug 23 to send former leader Najib Razak to jail after losing his final appeal in the SRC International case.

Azalina, who resigned from the deputy speaker’s post during the brief power vacuum last year, was among a group of Umno MPs aligned with Najib who retracted their support for Muhyiddin Yassin, triggering his resignation in August 2021.