Kadir Jasin resigns from Council of Eminent Persons

Veteran journalist A Kadir Jasin has resigned from his position as head of media and communications of the Council of Eminent Persons with immediate effect.

“I have, with immediate effect, resigned as head of media and communications of the Council of Eminent Persons.

“This is solely my decision in order to avoid further confusion among members of the public regarding my role in the council, and the views I expressed in my blog and in my weekly column in the Sinar Harian newspaper,” Kadir wrote in a blog post today.

The announcement from Kadir, who is also a supreme council member of Bersatu, comes several days after his comments on the royal institution engendered controversy. 

He pointed out that although he consistently makes it a point to indicate that his posts are made in his personal capacity as a blogger, the media and others who quote these posts invariably link these to his position in the council. 

As such, Kadir said he decided to step down from the council in order to preclude further controversy.

“To avoid embarrassment to the council and any possible conflict of interest on my part, I offered my resignation and was accepted by the chairperson, Daim Zainuddin.

“I thank the prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Daim for their trust and confidence in me." 

Will continue to serve

Despite resigning from the advisory council, Kadir also said that he would continue to serve the country and the people through his writings. 

On Wednesday, de facto PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim had hit out at Kadir for what he described as the latter’s “disparaging” remarks against the royal institution.

This followed Kadir’s blog post from earlier this week on the appointment of Tommy Thomas as attorney-general, which came after reported initial pushback from the Conference of Rulers. 

He said in his post that the rulers should be assured about their position, as they are "lavishly provided for."

Kadir also claimed that the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong was allocated RM256.9 million for 16 months up until April this year.

Official government statistics, however, state that the annual allocation for the king only amounts to RM13.5 million annually.  - Mkini