SOMETIMES silence is golden especially when one is unable to control the outcome which is more than likely to trigger a public outcry.
Hence, PKR deputy president hopeful Nurul Izzah Anwar has probably shot herself on the foot by describing the recent one-year contract extension of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) head honcho Tan Sri Azam Baki – a third after two previous six-monthly extensions – as “unwelcome”.
“The party needs to stand for reforms – and we require the support of the rakyat and our members in order to do this,” she tweeted in a reaction to Friday’s (May 9) announcement by Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar.
This was an unwelcome extension. The party needs to stand for reforms – and we require the support of the rakyat and our members in order to do this.
We ask brave and courageous civil servants and personalities to rise to the occasion.
—-
Pemanjangan kontrak sebegini… pic.twitter.com/jFhDyW10dI
— Nurul Izzah Anwar 🇲🇾 🌺 (@n_izzah) May 10, 2025
“We ask brave and courageous civil servants and personalities to rise to the occasion.’
As public furore over the 62-year-old who has held the position since March 9, 2020 since succeeding Latheefa Koya with previous one-year reappointments in May 2023 and May 2024 has yet to subside, it is obviously foolish to imagine Nurul Izzah’s father and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has no say in the matter.
One commenter aptly described both the Puteri Reformasi and her father as “playing this good cop bad cop” on the matter”. Few others also chastised the due for their awful charade.
Recall that PMX had in April shot down a Bloomberg report that the Negri Sembilan-born Azam had been granted a six-month contract extension upon turning 62 on May 12, alluding to the very fact that it would be too soon to speculate on a contract extension at that moment in time.
To clear the air, one bold netizen tapped the opinion of @Perplexity – the X platform’s AI (artificial intelligence)-powered chatbot – as to why was Azam’s contract extended and if he had done a good job.
Beyond that, an answer was also sought from @Perplexity who has the authority to extend or terminate Azam’s contract to which the answer was very much expected – “the formal appointment/termination comes from the King but actual decision is made by the PM of the day”.
One commenter summed up best when he challenged Nurul Izzah to commit to improving the Madani government’s dismal performance to eradicate corruption if she were to be elected PKR’s deputy president at the party’s central leadership election for the 2025-2028 term on May 23. – May 11, 202
Main image credit: Nurul Izzah Anwar/X
