Kamarul Zaman confirms role as PM's special officer since December, wanted to keep 'low profile

PETALING JAYA: Confirming his appointment as special officer to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob since December, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) lecturer Dr Kamarul Zaman Yusoff said he prefers to keep a low profile.

“Yes, I am. I have been appointed to that post since early December but I prefer to keep a very low profile and do the work prescribed to me very quietly,” he told The Star.

Kamarul Zaman said he was still attached to UUM but has been seconded to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for two years.

"I am not tasked to do any political work or anything that has to do with determining the government policies, anyway, so no big deal actually,” the political analyst said.

The academic was embroiled in several controversies in the past where he was accused of stoking religious tensions and making comments about Christianisation.

He was also embroiled in defamation lawsuits including one filed by Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh in 2017.

His role as a special officer was revealed when the PMO uploaded a poster of a symposium on promoting Bahasa Malaysia on social media on Thursday (May 19), in which he was attributed as the Prime Minister’s special officer.

The post was eventually edited to attribute the academic as the symposium’s director was later deleted.

Several media houses then ran reports confirming his appointment.