KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 — Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan today denounced the appointment of Nurul Izzah Anwar as co-head of the Finance Ministry’s advisory panel's secretariat as nepotism.

The first-term federal lawmaker accused Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of not walking his talk by selecting his own daughter to be part of the government.

"Anwar and Pakatan Harapan have been going against nepotism for so many years. With this appointment, I think the fight has faded since they became bedfellows with Barisan Nasional in the unity government,” he told reporters in the Parliament.

Wan Saiful, who is also information chief for Bersatu, a component of the Perikatan Nasional Opposition coalition, also claimed the co-head of the Finance Ministry advisory panel's secretariat held more authority than as adviser to the finance minister – the position she was offered previously.

Nurul Izzah has since accepted the new role, which was announced on Sunday by the advisory panel chairman Tan Sri Hassan Marican who had been a director of sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional from 2018 to 2020, and before that president and CEO of national oil company Petronas from 1995 to 2010.

The advisory panel acts to advise Anwar as the finance minister on matters related to subsidies, including reviewing and restructuring existing subsidies and the provision of more holistic social protection.

It also advises the finance minister on matters related to government-linked companies, including determining their relevance in the current context and consolidating them where appropriate as well as national debt and good governance.