The great nepotism debate

Hotly debated: Nurul Izzah’s appointment as a senior adviser to the Prime Minister has both opponents and defenders in the many discussions about it on social media. — LO TERN CHERN/The Star

POP quiz: Which of the following is nepotism?

a) Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob allowing daughter Nor Azma Hilmah to be an assistant manager in the state’s legal and integrity department.

b) Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Johari Abdul appointing son Mohammed Iqbal as a special functions officer.

c) Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim appointing daughter Nurul Izzah as a senior adviser to him on economics and finance.

d) Former US President Donald Trump appointing daughter Ivanka as a senior White House adviser.

e) All of the above

f) None of the above

To help you answer, here’s the Cambridge Dictionary’s definition of nepotism: “The act of using your power or influence to get good jobs or unfair advantages for members of your own family”.

This week’s heavily debated issue was the Prime Minister’s appointment of Nurul Izzah -- who is a PKR vice-president -- as a senior adviser to him.

There are different opinions on whether her appointment was nepotism.

Anwar, who is Pakatan Harapan chairman and PKR president, doesn’t consider it nepotism: “Nepotism is when (a family member) is given a position to abuse power, enrich themselves, obtain contracts and get paid a huge sum,” he said, pointing out that Nurul Izzah is not getting paid.

As his adviser, the Prime Minister said Nurul Izzah would ensure that government projects and tenders are well regulated.

However, the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) and Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) doesn’t agree.

The decision, according to C4, reeks of nepotism and is a conflict of interest. The fact that Nurul Izzah is not paid for her role is irrelevant, it said in a statement.

TI-M also sees the appointment as a problem, saying it could give rise to issues of conflict of interest and nepotism.

I’ve been following debates about the red hot issue at online news portals and on social media, and I have made several observations about how people are viewing the subjective subject.

Some support Anwar’s decision because they believe in brand “Nurul Izzah”. They feel this is a politician who can do no wrong. They believe she will not take advantage of her position.

These are the people who see her as a future prime minister of Malaysia. And because they believe in the brand, they don’t see the appointment as nepotism as she is qualified for the job – one person pointed out that Nurul Izzah is a former three-term MP, leader of several international NGOs and think tanks and a trained engineer who also has a Masters in Asean and international relations.

Some take brand out of the equation and say that regardless of whether it is Nurul Izzah, regardless of whether she’s qualified, this is strictly nepotism, as nepotism means “the act of using your power or influence to get good jobs or unfair advantages for members of your own family”.

To them, Nurul Izzah is the daughter of the Prime Minister who got a job from her father. Clear-cut nepotism, they say.

Then you have the I-told-you-so crowd. These are people who said that Anwar, the then Opposition leader, was only giving lip service to his promise to fight nepotism, cronyism and corruption, and that his true colours would be revealed when he became PM – and Nurul Izzah’s appointment is proof of insincerity.

They also point out the same problem with the promise to fight corruption as Anwar made Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi his Deputy Prime Minister, and Ahmad Zahid is facing more than 40 counts of corruption, criminal breach of trust and money laundering charges.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister shot back at these commentators, saying that the Umno president must get the opportunity to be judged by an independent and impartial court.

But others then point to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia asking the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate PKR to determine who paid for its president to use a jet and helicopters during the 15th General Election in November. More fodder for those who say Anwar was insincere before.

Then there are those who are quiet now that they are in government. If they were in Opposition and then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had appointed one of his children as a senior adviser to him, they would have screamed nepotism. But now, they’re silent. They have become the proverbial three wise monkeys who see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.

Will there be a political cost to Nurul Izzah’s appointment? State elections are looming in Kedah, Kelantan, Negri Sembilan, Penang, Selangor and Terengganu. Plus, Sabah if politics in that state goes into overdrive.

Will the PKR vice-president’s appointment affect the three states controlled by Pakatan – Negri Sembilan, Penang and Selangor – I asked a Bersatu leader over coffee in Kuala Lumpur.

“It will open the eyes of the voters that Pakatan is not as clean as it claims to be,” he said.

But told him I didn’t think so.

“Pakatan voters will still vote for Pakatan as they consider it a lesser evil than Perikatan Nasional. They are scared of Perikatan. Over moves like the gambling ban in Kedah.

“Look at the silence of most Pakatan supporters on Ahmad Zahid’s appointment as DPM. It is because Perikatan spooks them,” I said.

“It will affect some of the voters,” insisted the Bersatu leader.

“We only need a 5% swing from the non-Malays in Selangor to win the state,” he said.

Pop quiz: If Anwar and Nurul Izzah were still in the Opposition, would they have been against a prime minister’s decision to appoint a family member as a senior adviser on economics and finance?

a) Yes.

b) No.

c) It’s Just Politics.