National Oversight and Whistleblower (NOW) director Akmal Nasir says he is more quiet and prefer to observe from the sidelines, compared with his outspoken and friendly party colleague Rafizi Ramli. – The Malaysian Insider pic, November 25, 2015.At just 29 years old, with no honorifics to his name or Dewan Rakyat seat to warm, Akmal Nasir found himself taking on a senior Federal minister when he unleashed a series of exposes on Yayasan Pembangunan Ekonomi Islam (Yapeim), a government charity recently.
His David-versus-Goliath-like battles with Yapeim and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom have drawn up comparisons with another PKR leader, Rafizi Ramli.
Before he became a Member of Parliament, Rafizi shot to fame with his exposes on then Cabinet member Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil and the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp), of which her husband, Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail, is the executive chairman.
Yesterday, however, the Kuala Lumpur Sessions court acquitted Mohamad Salleh of two charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving RM49.7 million.
Akmal, whose full name is Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, told The Malaysian Insider that while he looked up to Rafizi, their characters were very different.
"Maybe because I work closely with him, people think we are the same. But we're actually very different – Rafizi is outspoken and friendly, I'm more quiet and prefer to observe from the sidelines," said Akmal.
Despite his quiet demeanour, the University of Wisconsin graduate became the youngest PKR leader to hold the post of Johor Baru branch chief.
Akmal first joined politics after he earned his degree in Actuarial Science and returned to Malaysia in 2009, where he landed a job at the Selangor Economic Advisory Office.
"Even I didn't expect to get involved in the world of politics. I chose to study Actuarial Science because I was told that the country needed more experts in the field," said Akmal.
"But when I returned to Malaysia, and saw the country's scenario at that time, I resolved to help where I could. I joined the economic office in 2010, when Rafizi was the chief executive there."
The former Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) student said he eventually resigned from the office after two years and a half to set up the National Oversight and Whistleblowers (NOW) Centre, which he now heads.
"NOW was set up in 2012 after the NFC scandal was exposed. Rafizi and I quit our jobs because we felt we needed to focus on that issue.
"After the NFC issue broke, we realised that there wasn't enough attention being paid to fighting corruption and the role the public can play. So that was why we set up NOW."
Besides NFC and Yapeim, NOW had also raised issues on the lack of transparency in federal government agencies, such as the construction of the Police Contingent Headquarters in Johor Baru, Majlis Amanah Rakyat's (Mara) land purchases in Australia and the construction of six Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) campuses, said Akmal.
But to Akmal's surprise, it was his exposes on Yapeim that earned him headlines and grabbed public attention.
He admitted that life had become much busier since he first alleged that Jamil Khir went golfing and shopping in the US last year using funds meant for orphanages.
Besides fielding requests for interviews, many Yapeim contributors had come to see him to thank him for his exposes, said Akmal.
"In one case, a government officer recognised me from when I lodged a police report. He came up to me and thanked me for exposing the issue.
"He said he had been contributing to Yapeim for 20 years and was troubled by the issue," said Akmal.
"Its reactions like those that make me feel touched. To me, they deserve to know how Yapeim is spending their money."
His exposes on Yapeim led to two senior officials being ordered to go on leave pending investigations into the charity organisation. Local television station TV3 identified the two as Yapeim chairman Datuk Abdul Malek Awang Kechil and deputy chairman Datuk Siti Zaleha Hussin.
When asked what his future plans in PKR were, Akmal admitted he didn't have high hopes of holding bigger posts or contesting in elections, preferring instead to focus on NOW.
"At this point I don't really think about that, because I am more focused on my exposes with NOW.
"I won't say no if the party entrusts me with a responsibility, but I just think I still have a long way to go before I reach that level," the bachelor said.
- TMI
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