YOURSAY | 'Family and governance should not mix.'

COMMENT | Obsession over Nurul Izzah’s appointment must cease

Travis Bickle: Appointing Nurul Izzah Anwar, who faces no charges, has a track record as an honest and ethical politician, and is trusted by her father Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, as a pro bono adviser?

“Cannot! Absolutely unethical! This is immoral! Shame!” (Frothing at the mouth).

Appointing Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, a man facing over 40 charges and has a highly questionable track record, as deputy prime minister, with all the pay, power, and perks that come with it?

“That’s okay lah, we need Zahid to form the government. A man is innocent until proven guilty. Don’t be so idealistic, we must look at the big picture mah. Focus on the economy lah. Hush, don’t mention it any more.”

To these people, what is “ethical” is determined by whether it benefits them. If it benefits them, even an unethical act can be excused. But if it doesn’t benefit them, then they demand the highest ethical standards.

Appointing a man facing 40 charges as the second most powerful man in the nation is acceptable because it helps assuage their fears of PAS rule. Nurul Izzah’s appointment brings no benefits to them. So they go around the mulberry bush condemning non-stop.

I too think that Nurul Izzah’s appointment is nepotism. But I don’t care that much about it because many more important issues need looking at.

I condemned it as nepotism and I moved on because I expect Anwar to make mistakes and to make decisions I don’t agree with. To me, dwelling on this Nurul Izzah issue and constantly condemning it is like arguing about a torn cushion, while the house is catching fire.

KK Voter: Malaysiakini columnist P Gunasegaram wrote, “The problem is the so-called optics of it not sitting too well with the public, who however remained relatively quiet when former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin appointed allied MPs to positions of power within government-linked companies and organisations, even when they were not qualified at all.”

Defend her appointment if you want, but the public was not “relatively quiet” during Muhyiddin’s time. Which rock were you hiding under unless you’re talking about yourself?

First, a prominent economist perplexingly twisted it into gender discrimination, now you suggest the public didn't fight as hard when it was worse.

Continue this line of twisted defence and it will end up just like the first Harapan government, pissing off the fence-sitters who decided to give Harapan a chance and leaving only their hardcore supporters whose only slogans are “the other side is worst” and “better than the racists”.

It is about time to show how the new government is better, not tell how the alternative is worst. Maybe this is one of the reasons that contributed to the green wave of the 15th general election.

David Dass: I accept the complaints of the purists. Anwar could have handled Nurul Izzah’s appointment to an advisory post better. Perhaps with consulting Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

I, like many others, was disappointed when Nurul Izzah lost her parliamentary seat in Permatang Pauh. I always saw her as part of the next generation of leaders. It is her generation that should now lead.

I was hoping she would continue serving the nation in some capacity to maintain her profile. But this reaction will make her task more challenging.

Her appointment bothers me less. There are other more worrying appointments. Will Anwar be able to govern more effectively? Will he be able to rein in the corrupt? Will he be able to look after the poor? Who amongst his appointees can he rely on?

GreenImpala: Ignoring this would mean closing one or two eyes and accepting that the ends justify the means. If we truly believe in good governance, we will press the government of the day on issues or decisions made which are an affront to good governance, regardless of how we voted on election day.

This sets a dangerous precedent for all future governments, and please let’s not compare it with how previous governments have also done the same, or that Nurul Izzah is taking the job on a pro bono basis.

These are flawed arguments. Family and government cannot and should not mix in any circumstances. Anwar missed the opportunity to take this stand.

GreenCheetah0027: Coming from a leader who got elected on the platform of “fighting corruption”, this saga shakes the confidence and trust in him, his party, Pakatan Harapan, and even in the country to the core.

Getting opinion leaders and party leaders to come out to explain further serves to confirm people’s concerns. For example, you have just listed down a lot of the prime minister’s errors which suggests he’s not as great as people think he is.

There may still be time to do some damage control on this saga by undoing the appointment and starting again. This is better than carrying the baggage to the upcoming elections. The biggest victim in this is Nurul Izzah. Enough said, the ball is in the prime minister’s court.

Existential Turd: The reason why people keep obsessing over Nurul Izzah’s pro bono “appointment” is that we hold her and her father to a higher standard than the other politicians.

Asking us to “move on” is akin to asking us to treat them at the same level as all the other questionable appointments that the author listed.

When we do that, that means there is really no difference between them and reform is kaput.

Do you really want to cross the Rubicon?

Perhaps Anwar and Nurul Izzah really are on the opposite side of the bank all along. The rest of us just refuse to acknowledge it.

Et tu, Guna?

MS: Move forward fighting corruption? Nepotism is a form of corruption in that it involves abusing one’s position and power to act in favour of a family member. Such abuse coming from a self-acclaimed reformist is all the more reprehensible.

And yes, all the questionable decisions and appointments listed point to, and define, the real Reformasi - not the one the gullible public assumed it would be.

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