PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has announced a team of qualified subject-matter experts to advise him in his job as Finance Minister. He stressed that the team shall not receive any payment for this assignment.
This was a breath of fresh air considering the slew of ministers and ministerial-rank advisors appointed in sundry portfolios by the previous prime ministers. The lucky ones got into government-linked enterprises where the remuneration is higher than a minister’s salary.
Anwar terminated all such political appointments as soon as he became PM. The rakyat was elated while protests were subdued because the beneficiaries themselves knew such as a practice is abominable.
But Anwar’s appointment of his daughter Nurul Izzah as his pro-bono senior finance and economics advisor raised a maelstrom of protests even among his own supporters.
I have written about this appointment mainly questioning the due process, transparency and job scope. Anwar had to repeatedly defend his decision, the latest was that Nurul Izzah’s task is to ensure contracts are in order. It seems the job scope changes as the need arises.
However, the appointment of this five-member team of eminent experts – and that Nurul Izzah not being part of this team – raises even more questions about her actual role.
In the meantime, experts and journalists have volunteered their own interpretation and justification of Nurul Izzah’s role. Among these include:
- Anwar is preparing her as a future PM;
- The position does not require any decision or policy making;
- Anwar needs someone he trusts (over his own civil servants?
- This appointment isn’t the worst of Anwar’s very questionable appointment of others;
- This is just a gender thing (one doesn’t need an economics/finance qualification); and
- Previous regimes have done it why not Anwar.
To me, all this debate shows that even Anwar’s allies and ardent supporters are hard pressed to justify the appointment. There are calls to move on because it is a done deal. Yes, please tell that to the opposition when parliament convenes next week. It’s going to be ruckus like never before.
Former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak white-washed billions of ringgit that landed in his bank account as donation. Opposition leader Tan Sri Hadi Awang has green-washed wads of cash handed out to voters during elections as charity.
Now Anwar has given a free pass for family members to be appointed to public positions, the only qualification needed is ‘pro-bono’. The Dewan Rakyat speaker which position requires the highest integrity, impartiality and objectivity, has belatedly defended his son’s appointment in his office.
Penny wise pound foolish
However, pro-bono is not free as it seems, but may come with a hefty cost both tangible and intangible. It could be a case of penny wise pound foolish.
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, a smart secretariat to organize 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 believe the remit for this experts’ team would be to generate billions of ringgit for the national coffers either through new initiatives or reduced costs. What is the rationale that this team has to work so hard expending their time, effort and resources yet not compensated. Isn’t this counter-productive and can affect the quality of their advice?
In this digital age, any expert can share their advice pro-bono. All it requires is for the government to be open, consultative, inclusive, and receive any feedback in good faith. The media should also promote expert technical views on a subject of current concern rather than overly focusing on sensational political news for cheap publicity.
Malaysia Madani Foundation?
In economics, there is a term called opportunity costs. In this case, putting a person eminently qualified in a task that is not her forte, will incur greater costs and lost opportunity.
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 when she resigned from her senior party positions following the betrayal within and by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed.
Anwar’s avowed priority is to eradicate poverty in its various forms. At the moment, billions of funds for poverty eradication are dispersed through various agencies, and wasted through bureaucratic delivery mechanisms. I have not seen any concrete plans yet, except importing eggs and Menu Rahmah.
I have suggested that 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.
If Nurul Izzah could eradicate hard-core and absolute poverty, that will be the greatest achievement that no other prime minister or their administration has ever achieved.
The lost opportunity for the country is Nurul Izzah not being able use her forte to prove herself as a future PM. She cannot shine from under the shadows of her father. – Feb 9, 2023
Dr 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. Contact: [email protected].
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
