Moving Nurul Izzah to finance ministry still nepotism, says PN

MPs from Perikatan Nasional today urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to put a halt to all incidents of nepotism and cronyism, citing his appointment of his daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar to a government position even without payment of allowance or salary. 

Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan also questioned Nurul's transfer from the Prime Minister's Office to the finance ministry, saying it was still proof of nepotism in the government. 

Since the establishment of the coalition government in the wake of the general election, he said, Pakatan Harapan had been "sharing a bed" with Barisan Nasional, to the point that it was willing to violate its past principles. 

"It's not a question of qualification, or whether or not emoluments are made," he said at a press conference in Parliament. 

"It's about the risk of conflict of interest in government administration. As secretariat chief, Nurul will almost certainly have facilities and access to the work being carried out by the committee in question."

Nurul, who revealed last month that she had been appointed as a senior economic and finance adviser to the prime minister, said on Feb 13 that she had now joined the finance minister's special advisory body, chaired by Mohd Hassan Marican.

The role of the secretariat is to advise the finance minister on ways to increase the country's revenue base and reduce its operating expenses. 

It is also responsible for advising the ministry on matters related to subsidies, reviewing and restructuring existing subsidies, and the provision of more holistic social protections.

"With this new role, I no longer serve as a senior economic and finance adviser to the prime minister," Nurul said.

Wan Saiful said if Anwar allowed the appointment to take place, it would only invite embarrassment for the country. 

"Even in countries like Burundi and Kiribati, they do not do things the way that the Malaysia Madani leaders do," he said.