Flex muscles or pack your bags, Low told

Since his appointment as a cabinet minister, former Transparency International Malaysia chairman Paul Low has been forced to dodge a slew of brickbats.

In the latest salvo, an opposition leader called on the de facto transparency minister to flex his muscles.

DAP publicity chief Tony Pua (left) said Low should not be window dressing for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to present a "semblance of reform".

"Unless Low is happy being made used of by the prime minister, he should start  packing his bags because it has now been made crystal clear that Umno’s interest is above everything else," he added in a statement.

He was referring to Low's statement that he would provide the premier feedback internally over the apparent conflict of interest with regard to Najib's directive to government-linked companies to advertise in his party-owned newspaper.

"He must do everything within his power as the minister in charge of transparency and accountability to ensure that the prime minister retracts his misguided directive," said Pua.

Otherwise, the DAP leader said officers would likely go all out in adhering to Najib's public call to put up advertisements in Utusan Malaysia.

"In fact, we would not be surprised if these officers go to the extreme to plan and concoct all sorts of advertisements with the Umno-owned daily to demonstrate their undying loyalty to the prime minister," he added.

He queried if Low (right) was prepared to tell the GLCs to disregard Najib's directive and only make expenditure that brings real returns and value to the company.

Pua, who is also Petaling Jaya Utara MP, said the former TI-M chairperson who was brought into government to improve good governance cannot be wishy-washy about the subject.

"If  Low is unable to reverse such clear-cut abuse of power by the prime minister himself, then how can he expect to make a difference with processes to make the government more transparent and accountable?" he asked.