By appointing his own daughter, the PM is putting his own reputation, and his government’s, at stake.

I thought I would not want to comment further on the appointment of Nurul Izzah as the prime minister’s senior advisor on economics and finance, after concluding last week that Anwar should have avoided appointing his own daughter no matter how popular she is with the people.

But I changed my mind after the announcements the PM made these past few days.

Based on what we got from the press conference after PKR’s central committee meeting on Monday night, Anwar said it wouldn’t be a problem if any minister wanted to appoint his or her family member as advisor or assistant provided that no public funds were involved.

That went with my earlier concern that based on the very same rationale, what’s wrong with a DPM appointing his high-profile daughter to a senior post on the pretext it was for the good of the country?

I later read the article “The boss’ daughter” by Mariam Mokhtar who questioned how Malaysians would react if Tun Mahathir were to appoint his equally popular daughter Marina to be his senior adviser, six weeks after becoming PM in 2018.

Mariam is known as a freelance writer fearlessly voicing up for the underprivileged in the society, unfazed by the threats of religious conservatism.

Before Anwar’s unity government came into being, she had been voicing up for Anwar alongside many others in NGOs who despise nepotism, cronyism and corruption, with the hope Anwar could get the opportunity to put up a government that will bring change to the country.

Obviously Mariam has been very unhappy with Anwar, at least where Nurul’s appointment is concerned.

Meanwhile, another heavyweight opinion leader Ambiga  Sreenevasan who for many years have had very high expectations for Pakatan, is also disenchanted by Nurul’s appointment.

She put it very forthright that this was in its essence nepotism, and said she hoped this would not be emulated by other cabinet ministers.

She also urged the PM to review his action of opening the flood gate for his cabinet colleagues to follow suit, so long as the appointments are pro bono and no taxpayers’ money has been used to reward them.

As a matter of fact, Nurul’s appointment has been perceived with much abhorrence among the general population, especially with Anwar continuously stressing the virtue of good governance, zero tolerance for corruption, cronyism and political appointments.

It is always easier said than done. And just as the whole world was patiently waiting for the PM to fulfill his noble-sounding promises, we were rudely greeted by something quite undesirable.

By appointing his own daughter to a senior position, Anwar is actually killing his own credibility. Perhaps the PM is a much better sayer than doer, leaving his supporters in complete bewilderment.

We cannot expect his cabinet colleagues to speak the truth out of the cruel political reality to keep the government stable and their offices intact, often sacrificing their cherished principles.

As for the outspoken Rafizi Ramli, he should count his blessing if his life in the party is not going to be made any more difficult from this day on.

Indeed, very few in Anwar’s unity government have the guts to voice out against the commander, perhaps with the notable exception of the now retired Lim Kit Siang. Unfortunately, this gentleman while still unceasingly issuing statements to the media each morning, has clearly stayed away from issues less flattering in the government.

Given the exemplary political acumen of the DAP giant, Lim is most definitely not someone without independent thinking. Let me guess, perhaps his decision to keep mum over the issue speaks volumes of his disposition today.

While a politician will do everything to bring down a rival, he will opt to turn a deaf ear to something unbecoming from friendly side.

If Anwar wants to hear the truth, he should take a serious look at the unbiased views of NGOs and think tanks who unbendingly defend their principles, including Transparency International Malaysia president Dr. Muhammad Mohan, C4 (Center to Combat Corruption & Cronyism), IDEAS, and Bersih chairman Thomas Fann.

At the end of a recent close-door media roundtable, several local and foreign media editors had a chat over this matter, many expressing regret over Anwar’s move. None of us hoped this misstep would mark the start of his eventual downfall.

Apparently the PM has sensed the public distaste that on Tuesday night, he announced the appointment of a 5-member special advisory body headed by Petronas adviser Hassan Marican. All the advisory body’s members are respected economists who definitely can do the job much better than his earlier senior advisor on economics and finance!

By appointing his own daughter, the PM is putting his own reputation, and his government’s, at stake. With his latest move of naming a five-member panel to assist him in managing the country’s economy, we don’t need an expert to tell us that the PM is trying to “put out the fire” by diluting Nurul’s role.

If we must try to be picky, then the PM should not abuse the “pro bono” basis in the name of national interest, demanding free service from these experts who are unrelated to the PM, finance minister or any cabinet minister, nor ex-presidents of some parties enjoying good salaries and perks doing nothing in their capacity as some kind of “envoys.”

And to top it off,  if Nurul would make a timely exit from the PM’s office, I guess this controversy could be put to a complete rest soon.