FEBRUARY, 17 — On Feb 9, I published this article asking ‘Eminent experts to advise Anwar is laudable, but what about Nurul Izzah’s role’?
This was in response to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim appointing a five-member advisory panel headed by Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican to advise him as Finance Minister. Earlier on Jan 6, Anwar appointed his daughter Nurul Izzah as senior finance and economics advisor. All appointments were pro-bono. It seemed odd Nurul Izzah was not part of the advisory panel.
On Feb 12, Nurul Izzah said she has quit the advisor role and will now support the advisory panel as co-chair of its secretariat.
On the potential role of the advisory panel, I wrote therein:
“The nature of advice given could range from an arms-length review of decision or policy before implementation, to generating ideas for policy making. In the former case, it is best done in public brain-storming sessions gathering views from a wide range of experts. In the latter case, which I believe this team is appointed for, it requires research, data collection, analysis, and a smart secretariat to organise and write up the draft reports and minutes.
Normally senior civil servants and their staff have to service the team of advisors. Civil servants rather than doing their job as policy advocates would be servicing meetings and writing minutes. This will certainly affect their morale”.
I further added, while the advisors come pro-bono, the establishment of a secretariat will come with a hefty cost, both tangible and intangible. My advice, in fact, was a caution not to institutionalise the role of advisory panel.
However on Feb 12, Chairman Hassan Marican informed a secretariat was established to support its operations. Nurul Izzah was named as co-chair of the secretariat together with Petronas senior manager Khairil Anuar Ramli.
When Nurul Izzah was appointed senior advisor on Jan 6, Anwar and his allies lauded that this was the best role for Nurul Izzah as she is eminently qualified and someone Anwar can trust.
Now with this change of her role, it seems Nurul Izzah has not found her true calling yet. Her role has been drastically diminished, from senior advisor to Anwar to being a ‘secretary’ to the advisory panel. Despite being pro-bono, it seems like a full-time time job for her. Furthermore, she would not be able to speak up in public on her contributions, in deference to the advisory panel chairman.
Economy, corruption, poverty
Since taking office and from public statements, I can summarise Anwar’s foremost mission as Prime Minister as vitalising the ailing economy, eradicating corruption, and alleviating poverty. On revitalising the economy, I have written on Feb 9, 2021 about its systemic structural flaws suggesting Malaysia’s economy is terminally ill. The solutions are staring at us, and Anwar needs to face the elephant in the room head on. A new institionalised advisory panel, adding to the slew of agencies handling this matter is not going to make a difference, only duplicating existing work.
On eradicating corruption, Anwar has made the right move to call upon enforcement agencies to investigate any corruption and abuse of power independently. He has emphasised he will not tolerate any corruption whether it involves the opposition or his administration. Only the guilty ones will scream “witch-hunting”.
On alleviating poverty, Anwar made a bold statement at the launch of his Malaysia Madani slogan, saying it’s disgraceful, sinful and unacceptable for the rich to live in luxury, while the poor are struggling. Where’s the paradigm shift in tackling this pervasive problem?
Malaysia Madani Foundation?
I have made this suggestion several times. I recall what I said:
“Anwar’s avowed priority is to eradicate poverty in its various forms. At the moment, billions of funds for poverty eradication are dispersed through numerous agencies, and wasted through bureaucratic delivery mechanisms. I have not seen any concrete plans yet, except importing eggs and Menu Rahmah.
I have suggested Anwar establish a Malaysia Madani Foundation and have Nurul Izzah head this agency. The Foundation can easily be resourced from existing allocations to the various agencies. She could reform aid delivery by directly working with civil society.
Nurul Izzah is a people’s person and is well-liked by everyone including her die-hard opponents. She is calm, measured, and speaks well, but a person of steel considering the hardship her family has undergone. She is a person of demonstrated integrity and principles when she resigned from her senior party positions following the betrayal within and by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed.
If Nurul Izzah could eradicate hard-core and absolute poverty at least, that will be the greatest achievement that no other prime minister or their administration has ever achieved.”
I think this job will be the true calling for Nurul Izzah, rather than wasting her time, potential and talent in a relatively junior role in the crowded field of finance.
Note: Related articles
1. “Disgraceful, Sinful, and Unacceptable: Leaders swim in luxury, while poor are struggling”
2. Has reformist Anwar just scored an own goal, lost it big this time?
3. 12MP: As Malaysia gets richer, do Malaysians become poorer?
*Raman Letchumanan is a former senior official (environment) in Malaysia and Asean, and Senior Fellow at Nanyang Technological University Singapore. He is an accredited accountant (Malaysia/UK) and has a Ph.D. in environmental economics, among other qualifications. This advice is provided pro-bono, without any expectation of public office or any other benefits.
**This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
