Pages

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Ex-Otai Reformis man criticises Nurul Izzah’s appointment as PM’s adviser




Ex-Otai Reformis man criticises Nurul Izzah’s appointment as PM’s adviser


Abdul Razak Ismail says there are others better qualified for the role.


PETALING JAYA: A former member of a pro-Anwar Ibrahim group has criticised the prime minister’s decision to appoint his daughter, Nurul Izzah, as his senior economics and finance adviser.

“The perception is simple, out of 32 million people, is there really no one else who can be the prime minister’s adviser?” former Otai Reformis secretary Abdul Razak Ismail told FMT.


“We have economic affairs minister Rafizi Ramli, is it not enough?”

Razak, who is now the secretary-general of Green Party Malaysia (GPM), questioned how Pakatan Harapan (PH) would have reacted if former prime minister Najib Razak had appointed his wife, Rosmah Mansor, as an adviser when he was in power.

He said Anwar will now have to deal with the perceptions surrounding his daughter’s appointment.

Even as the opposition leader, Anwar had to deal with perceptions of nepotism when his wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, and Nurul Izzah were MPs, he said.

“Now you (Anwar) have been appointed prime minister and the perception is still the same.”

He said Nurul Izzah, the former Permatang Pauh MP, should join an NGO instead to advise the government her father leads.

“That would be a better move”.

Nurul Izzah’s appointment has come under fire from the opposition, civil society groups, think tanks and even those within PH.

Yesterday, PKR’s Pasir Gudang MP, Hassan Karim, described her appointment as “legally right, but morally wrong”.

Others said the appointment reeked of nepotism and pointed out that Nurul Izzah did not have the qualifications for the role even though she possessed two degrees.

Opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin urged Anwar to rescind the appointment which he said went against good governance principles.

Last night, former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin said it was not too late for Anwar to rectify his missteps since becoming prime minister, including Nurul Izzah’s appointment.


No comments:

Post a Comment