Stop criticising Anwar's appointment of Nurul Izzah and back her instead, Tourism Minister Tiong tells public

KUCHING, Feb 1 — Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has today backed Datuk Sri Anwar Ibrahim’s appointment of his daughter Nurul Izzah as his senior adviser, amid backlash and nepotism accusations from the public.

He urged the public to stop criticising the matter and instead support Nurul Izzah to serve the nation in her personal capacity, rather than as the prime minister’s daughter.

“Advisers to a senior government leader are at times appointed for the purposes of giving alternative viewpoints or to fill in gaps that focus on the underserved portion of society. It does not necessarily overlap any current functions in the government to the point of redundancy,” the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president said in a statement.

He highlighted that Anwar had stated that Nurul Izzah will serve pro bono.

Tiong then appealed to the critics and Malaysians to cease politicising the appointment.

“It is time for us to focus on what is more important, that is, bringing the country back to a solid economic footing,” he said.

He said the public now wants to see the economy improve and reasonable constructive public policies being debated and formed, not more politicking which only erodes local and foreign confidence in the country’s leadership.”

Enough is enough. We need all the help we can get, not more wasteful politicking by running down political foes which had only served to derail Malaysia’s growth and development trajectory for the past parliamentary term,” the Bintulu MP said.

Yesterday, Anwar said 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.