PETALING JAYA: A former DAP MP has come to Nurul Izzah Anwar’s defence following her controversial appointment as a special adviser to the prime minister.
Citing her track record in Parliament, Charles Santiago said the flak Nurul Izzah received over her appointment was “unwarranted” and “unfair”.
Santiago said having worked with her on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement parliamentary caucus in 2013, he knew that the former Permatang Pauh MP would always prioritise the people.
“She has always stood for the ordinary man and woman,” Santiago told FMT, adding that when it came to the TPPA, Nurul Izzah was eloquent on matters of intellectual property rights and development issues facing the country, including agrarian reforms to help develop the rural sector.
“As an MP, she was always focused on improving the quality of life of the people,” he said, citing the Multidimensional Poverty Index which Nurul Izzah co-developed with a former Universiti Malaya professor.
Santiago said he also found Nurul Izzah to be extremely knowledgeable on reforms needed to shape skills development in the country, noting that she had drafted the private member’s bill on Technical and Vocational Education and Training or TVET.
Santiago brushed off criticism of a conflict of interest, pointing out that neither Nurul Izzah nor her family members were involved in business.
Therefore, he said, there was no conflict, and therefore no nepotism, as some detractors claimed.
“If she was a businesswoman, I would have been the first to object.”
The former Klang MP observed that throughout her political career, Nurul Izzah had never leveraged on the fact that she was Anwar Ibrahim’s daughter.
Santiago went on to dismiss arguments that she was not qualified to be a senior economics and finance adviser, saying that in some cases, qualified economists had been detrimental to a country’s economy.
Economists in the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have destroyed developing countries with flawed policies, he added.
Santiago also said that if former prime ministers Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri Yaakob, or even PAS president Hadi Awang, had appointed their children to similar posts while in office, he would not have any objection if they “were like Nurul Izzah”.
“She doesn’t come with any baggage. Which is why I feel the criticisms against her are unfair and unwarranted and, frankly, have gone overboard.”
He also said it made sense for Anwar to appoint his daughter as an adviser considering that as the prime minister, the PKR president was surrounded by vultures.
Santiago said it was a matter of trust, adding that between deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Nurul Izzah, “I would rather listen to Nurul.”
Nurul Izzah’s appointment has led to brickbats, including by think tanks and civil society, with some calling for the appointment to be rescinded. Anwar yesterday insisted that her appointment was not nepotism. - FMT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.