I'll not quit over son's appointment, vows Nazri

Culture and Tourism Minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz will not quit his post as a result of the controversy over the appointment of his son Nedim as his special officer.

Nazri also vowed to defend his rights and that of his son.

"I cannot resign. If I (were) to resign, (it will appear) as if I was mocking the democratic system," he is quoted as saying by New Straits Times.

Nazri drew flak from activists and bloggers, including Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM), over Nedim's appointment.

In defending the appointment, the senior minister is quoted as saying that "my son does not need a salary as he already has got a lot of money... his father is rich.”

JMM's secretary Hamdan Mohd Salleh had urged Nazri to resign and retire if he thinks he is already rich.

To this, Nazri said he was an elected member of parliament and had won with a bigger majority in the last general election.

"Hamdan does not represent anybody," said the minister.

Distancing himself from the controversial quote of being rich, the minister said: "They (the bloggers) were the ones who said so, not me. Even if I have some money, I will pay it back to society. It is my responsibility. I have been paying tax since I was 24.”

Nazri further claimed that he wanted to be transparent over Nedim’s appointment as in the past there were dubious people posing as his special officer and some had even collected money.

"How do I overcome this? That's why I put my son's name on the ministry's website so that people will know," he said.

Previously, Kita chief Zamil Ibrahim pointed out Nazri's contradiction in naming Nedim as his special officer in the ministry and the later clarification that his son was a special officer in the Padang Rengas constituency, concentrating on young voters.

To this, Nazri said the people were confused following several blog postings alleging that his son was a special officer with the ministry.