DAP has objected to the participation of Star Media Group advisor Wong Chun Wai in the National Recovery Council (NRC).
The party's secretary-general, Lim Guan Eng, said the NRC has a very important role to play and hence must not comprise of "politically connected" individuals, as there is sufficient political representation from the government and opposition parties.
According to Lim, Wong is an employee of the Star Media Group which is controlled by the MCA.
"Wong is naturally a mouthpiece of MCA. But he also aggressively promoted the infamous Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, of 1MDB fame by interviewing and publishing (the piece) on Low in The Star on July 29, 2010.
"When the financial wrongdoings in 1MDB were exposed, neither The Star nor Wong offered any mea culpa (apology) nor pursued the shady dealings unlike The Edge newspaper," Lim said in a statement today.
The Bagan MP argued that members of the NRC must not only have a professional background but possess the "unbridled courage" to speak truth to power.
"Several of the so-called subject matter experts appointed obviously do not qualify when they had either condoned or maintained a loud silence on the greatest financial scandal in history," he added.
Wong, 54, was among several individuals Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz named yesterday as members of the NRC. A list of "industry experts" invited to the council can be found at the end of this article.
Lim also questioned the appointment of former Khazanah chief executive officer (CEO) Azman Mokhtar to the NRC, in view that he was once the target of International Trade and Industry Minister Azmin Ali's criticism.
"Azmin revealed in Parliament in 2018 that Khazanah lost US$20 million (RM84 million) in a lingerie retailer in India and a RM3 billion investment via private equity to take over a bank also went bust.
"If Azman is now appointed, is this not a humiliating slap in the face for Azmin, who should not sit in the NRC if he is a man of honour?" Lim said.
He added that some better candidates for the NRC include economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram, surgeon Dr Yahya Awang and former international trade and industry minister Rafidah Aziz.
Meanwhile, Lim revealed that the DAP did not receive an invitation to join the council. If it does receive an invitation, the party will study the terms of reference first before making a commitment.
According to Zafrul, Pakatan Harapan will be invited to participate in the council.
The list of "industry experts" invited to the council is as follows:
Nor Mohamed Yakcop - former finance minister Azman Mokhtar - former Khazanah Bhd CEO Anthony Fernandes - AirAsia Group CEO Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman - professor at UM faculty of medicine Wong Chun Wai - Star Media Group advisor Michael Kang - SME Association chairperson Habibah Abdul Rahim - former senior civil servant Hartini Zainudin - activist Dr Sivakumar Thurairajasingam - psychiatry expert - Mkini
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