IPOH: Nurul Izzah Anwar is not getting paid as a senior adviser to the Prime Minister.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said no salary or allowance was given to his daughter who took on the role as his adviser on economics and finance.
“She is not paid any allowance, be it from the Prime Minister’s Office, or from the Finance Ministry,” he told a press conference after launching the Tambun Parliamentary Service Centre in Meru Raya yesterday.
He said this when asked on a tweet by Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, who congratulated Nurul Izzah on her appointment.
Anwar said while it was Ahmad Faizal’s right to ask about the appointment, he would like to ask Ahmad Faizal on important issues such as those concerning the “theft” of land, logging, shares and commissions.
“All the above is what that is destroying the country.
“Because I have yet to hear any statements from them supporting the efforts to clean the country of all this.
“All talk about corruption, but when we ask about such cases, they say why need to dig up old stories,” he said.
Ahmad Faizal was among those who highlighted Nurul Izzah’s appointment, which had become a bone of contention among some on social media.
Some have pointed out that the Prime Minister appointing his daughter as his advisor reeked of nepotism while others questioned his commitment to institutional reforms and weeding out cronyism, something which Anwar had been very vocal about.
In an exclusive interview in Sunday Star with Star Media Group advisor Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, she revealed she has been serving as senior adviser to the Prime Minister since Jan 3.
“It is my fervent hope that my past experience in the legislature as an MP, work on poverty and technical and vocational education, and service on the Public Accounts Committee can be leveraged in my engagement with experts in navigating economic governance, accountability and evidence-based policies,” she said.
On Nurul Izzah’s degree in electronics and electrical engineering, which is unrelated to finance and economics, Anwar said he too was a Finance Minister for eight years without holding a finance degree.
“Leaders from Perikatan Nasional also do not have a degree in finance but they were in the government.
“When it comes to us (Pakatan Harapan), they bring up such issues.
“So when they raise such issues, it must be consistent, so should it be that a Health Minister must be a doctor? Or the Water Minister holding an engineering degree?
“As for Nurul, her first degree is in engineering, but her second degree is from the renowned John Hopkins University in United States on public policy,” he said.
On the possibility for any of the sacked Umno leaders to join Pakatan Harapan, Anwar said no such invitation has been issued.
“If there is any such invitation, we need to look into it first, and get the views of other leaders.
“We need to ensure peace in this unity government, and thus, need to consider all aspects,” he added.
