Besides being the daughter of the tenth prime minister of Malaysia, Nurul Izzah Anwar is no stranger to the limelight, being a vocal politician and a former MP. The 43-year-old is now the subject of attention again, with her name now trending on Twitter as the subject of the debate of whether her appointment as the PM’s adviser is ethical or otherwise.
She shockingly lost her Permatang Pauh seat, a stronghold of her family last November and since 3 January, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s daughter has been serving as his senior economics and finance adviser. This allows her to work in the Prime Minister’s Department and the Ministry of Finance.
Before entering politics, the Vice President of PKR did her bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Universiti Tenaga Nasional and later obtained a master’s degree in international relations from the acclaimed Johns Hopkins University in Washington.
Her father, who has previously declared that he is not receiving a salary as PM, has defended her appointment, saying that he had personally invited her to serve in the role, but that she is not on the government payroll: “She is not paid any allowance, be it from the Prime Minister’s Office, or from the Finance Ministry.” As her degrees were not related to finance and economics, DSAI also mentioned that he was also previously a finance minister for eight years without possessing a finance degree.
DSAI also added that other ministers from Perikatan Nasional also did not serve in roles that suited their degrees.
Many citizens and politicians have chimed in with their thoughts on the appointment and many are divided on the issue. Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim, also a member of PKR, gave his short but succinct view on the matter on his Facebook page, saying that it was "Legally right but morally wrong."
Others said that the role pointed to nepotism which according to Cambridge dictionary which means ‘the act of using your power or influence to get good jobs or unfair advantages for members of your own family’.
Nurul Izzah, no ? Even if you are qualified, even if it's pro-bono, even with all the merits - you shouldn't have accepted the role. It screams nepotism and conflict of interest. It sets precedents for the next Government. It will forever be an argument held against you.
— Haidhar (@haidhar) January 30, 2023
Another compared this to former president of the USA’s Donald Trump’s appointment of his daughter Ivanka as a senior adviser in his administration. Ethics concerns were previously raised about Ivanka’s access to classified material while not being held to the same restrictions as a federal employee.
nurul izzah dan nepotism
— lanun laut (@janggut34544893) January 30, 2023
the US malaysia
have this has this pic.twitter.com/ZuoVBr8BTG
Some said that it was not a matter of personal political preference but that this was an ethical issue that would be strongly objected to if she was the daughter of previous prime ministers.
Halahhh..suddenly you are okay with it? You'll be singing a different tune if it is binti Ismail or binti Muhyiddin time ayah dorg jadi PM.
— fairuz liyana (@fyruz_liyana) January 29, 2023
I like Nurul Izzah, and I do believe she can make a different, but not when her father is the Minister of Economy and a PM. https://t.co/jzSWL3gaeH
Another seemed to be in favour of Pakatan Harapan, but said that this was still a case of nepotism and they expected more from politicians from the party:
This is a high degree of whataboutism under the pretext of defending a nepotistic appointment.
— MØhsein ?? (@iammohsein) January 30, 2023
Nepotism, whether it is Nurul Izzah Anwar or Nurul Hidayah Zahid, is wrong. It’s definitely not because “salah dia cuma sebab binti Anwar”. You’d expect PH folks to know better. https://t.co/Oqy6fruudy
Some users were supportive of Nurul Izzah, saying that she would have gotten the role because of her own capabilities and achievements, regardless of her background:
Say whatever u wanna say, but u know deep inside that she got the position not because she’s binti Anwar, it’s simply because she’s Nurul Izzah.
— Adawiyah Sulaiman (@rda_sulaiman) January 30, 2023
Others said that they didn’t see the problem as she was not receiving a salary:
Nurul Izzah has more integrity in her little finger than all of PN combined. She's working pro bono (free of charge) as an "advisor". An advisor is a person who gives advice. An advisor cannot make decisions or decide on policy. No salary, no perks. What is the conflict?
— Pemikir Malaysia (@pemikirmsia) January 29, 2023
One Twitter user has defended Nurul Izzah, saying that she has paved her own path even while her father was in prison:
Nepotism?
— Pemikir Malaysia (@pemikirmsia) January 29, 2023
Nurul Izzah entered into Uniten & John Hopkins on merit. She graduated while DSAI was in prison.
She stood in Lembah Pantai and won against then UMNO/BN Ketua Wanita while DSAI was in prison.
She didn't need her father. She fought for what she believed in.
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Image credit: @n_izzah