Newly appointed Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed has revealed that it was Umno vice president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who had sold him on the post.

He said he had initially turned down the job because it would be difficult, but Zahid, who is now deputy prime minister and home minister, managed to convince him to take up the offer.

“It is true that initially I had turned it down… because the task as deputy home minister is a heavy responsibility in addition to requiring patience, tenacity, and vision.

“Nevertheless when he (Zahid) mentioned the history of my late father (Mohamed Rahmad), I become nostaligic ( sayu ). Although at first I was frightened by the offer, in the end I went with it because of the trust given.

“That is Umno’s way. Friendship, family and history ties us together to continue to serve and sacrifice without thinking for oneself although the soul is restless. I accepted because of the history of the struggles and wishes of my late father,” Sinar Harian quoted him as saying today.

He was reportedly speaking at the opening of the Pulai Umno assembly yesterday.

Nur Jazlan was appointed as deputy home minister on July 28, while he was heading the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to investigate the 1MDB scandal.

'No sell-out'

About week earlier, Berita Harian had published an interview with him where he reportedly said that he would rather oversee the investigation to its conclusion rather than joining Najib’s administration.

He has since denied being a ‘ sell-out ’ , saying that he has done his part for the PAC and wants to move on.

His appointment - together with that of three other PAC members - prompted speculation that it was part of a ploy to silence those critical of 1MDB.

However, Ahmad Zahid said Nur Jazlan’s appointment was ‘long overdue’.

“(He) had rejected before, but Alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah) that this time, he accepted,” Mingguan Malaysia quoted him as saying in an interview published today.

He added that the other PAC members appointed to deputy ministerial and ministerial positions are qualified for their posts, and it is unfair to deny them the posts simply because they are PAC members.

For example, he said the newly minted Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Reezal Merican Naina Merican ( photo ) could speak fluent English and Arabic, in addition to having a legal background.

“Is it that since these people are PAC members, then their right to sit in the cabinet is denied? I think that is unfair.

“Take me for example, before this supposedly because I was a corporate leader and earn a lot of money, then I should not be a cabinet minister. Then I’ll be left out for two terms.

“I think we need to be fair in this,” he was quoted as saying.

He also denied that the events surrounding the cabinet reshuffle is a conspiracy to cover-up the 1MDB scandal.

The fire that broke out at Bukit Aman police headquarters on the day after the cabinet reshuffle was announced for example, did not affect the police unit that was investigating 1MDB.

“The Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID, which is investigating 1MDB) is not in Bukit Aman but another building. I don’t want to say which building.

“The CCID is in a building called ‘Building 238’, not in Bukit Aman. All the commercial crime investigation files are there. Not a single fire was affected by the fire,” said Zahid ( photo ), who is also the home minister.

Meanwhile, Sinar Harian reported that Nur Jazlan saying that he would have to seal his lips following his appointment as deputy home minister.

“I need to seal my lips because I need to keep government secrets,” he was quoted as saying.

Previously under a unanimous decision by the PAC, Nur Jazlan was the only person in the committee who could make public statements about the PAC proceedings on 1MDB in his capacity as the committee’ chairperson.

He would now have to vacate his PAC post due to his new appointment, and a new chairperson would only be appointed during the next parliamentary sitting in October.

A dispute is now ongoing whether PAC vice-chairperson Tan Seng Giaw can head the PAC when it is due to question three of 1MDB’s current and former CEOs this week, despite Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia’s decree that the hearings would have to be put on hold.