KUCHING, Feb 1: Politicking and propaganda on Nurul Izzah Anwar’s appointment as the Prime Minister’s senior economic and finance adviser must be put to rest because focus is needed to bring Malaysia back to solid economic footing.
Making this call, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Dato Sri Tiong King Sing has urged critics and all Malaysians in general to not waste time on politicking by running down political foes which had only serve to derail Malaysia’s growth and development trajectory for the past parliamentary term.
“Enough is enough. We need all the help we can get. I strongly believe it is time to let the matter rest and allow Nurul to focus on urgent matters that needed their attention.
“Related to the PM (Prime Minister) or not, at this moment let us support her and allow her the chance to serve the nation in her capacity,” he said in a statement posted on his social media account today.
Tiong also pointed out that 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.
“Furthermore, (Prime Minister) Datuk Seri Anwar (Ibrahim) had stated that Nurul had been appointed without (being paid salary or) allowance either from the Prime Minister’s Department or the Ministry of Finance,” he added.
For the sake of the country’s economic recovery, Tiong appealed that the matter must be put to rest and that it is time to focus on what is more important, which is to bring the country back to a solid economic footing.
“People want 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,” he emphasised.
Nurul Izzah, who is the daughter of Anwar, had reportedly been appointed to her role as senior adviser on Jan 3, but the matter only came to light this week after she did an interview with The Star.
The announcement had since drawn criticism by various parties, including from Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who asked Anwar to relinquish the finance portfolio and advise his daughter Nurul Izzah to step down from her role as senior adviser.
Responding to the issue, Anwar had yesterday said no nepotism was involved in the appointment of the daughter as his senior economic adviser.
Anwar said he wanted Nurul Izzah to help the government, including by ensuring a transparent administration and the proper award of government tenders. — DayakDaily
