I am writing in response to the piece in the New Straits Times yesterday where the writer, Kalimullah Hassan, touches on the unfairness of the the public backlash in response to speculation that the prime minister's son-in-law Khairi Jamaludin (KJ) may be appointed to be chief operating officer (COO) of Khazanah .

While it may be true to a certain extent that the public may be paying too much attention to KJ's family ties rather than ability, it is also wrong to denigrate the public for questioning the qualification of KJ as a COO for a taxpayer-funded agency.

KJ is very raw when it comes to business experience, he has no experience at all. It is therefore not wise to put him in charge of a small fund agency, let alone Khazanah. It is not jealousy that the public is questioning the wisdom of the proposed appointment..

Kalimullah says that if KJ gets a position in an international fund management company, he would not be able to manage Malaysian funds because the public will question that as well. This is not true.

No international agency is going to offer KJ any senior position, he will have to start from the bottom or middle, and progress upward. He most definitely will not be offered a chief executive officer or chief financial officer position. In contrast, Azman (Mokhtar, Khazanah's new CEO) has a proven track record so everyone is happy with his appointment.

If KJ joins a government agency and works his way upwards, then no one will dispute his ability. If he joins a private company, no one will also dispute his appointment. But to let him head a government organisation when he has zero experience is suicidal to say the least.

To expect the rakyat to keep quiet about such blatant con job is hilarious at best and immature at worst.