Anwar defends Nurul Izzah’s appointment, says not nepotism
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has reportedly said that no nepotism was involved in the appointment of daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar as his senior economic adviser.
Free Malaysia Today (FMT), today quoted Anwar as saying that although some people are unhappy with his decision, he “guarantees” that his administration will continue to fight corruption, the abuse of power and the enrichment of any leader or officer.
“Nepotism is where (a family member) is given a position to abuse power, enrich themselves, obtain contracts and get paid a huge sum,” he reportedly told reporters today after attending the National Sports Awards held in the National Sports Council here.
He reportedly said that Nurul Izzah, as his adviser, would be ensuring that government projects and tenders were well regulated.
Anwar also reportedly said that past prime ministers and ministers who had given “hundreds of millions of ringgit” worth of contracts to their family members should not be criticising him on matters of transparency.
Nurul Izzah had reportedly been appointed to her role as senior adviser on January 3, but the matter only came to light earlier this week after she did an interview with The Star.
Anwar, as well as Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil, have also said that Nurul Izzah is not being paid any salary or allowance for the role.
Previously, Nurul Izzah served as Lembah Pantai MP for two terms, from 2008 — when she was 28 years old — to 2018, and the following term as Permatang Pauh MP until 2022.
She, however, failed to defend her Permatang Pauh seat in the 15th general election (GE15), losing to Perikatan Nasional candidate Fawwaz Mohamad Jan.
On her website, she stated that she received a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Universiti Tenaga Nasional and a masters degree in international relations from the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
