Nurul Izzah calls Azam's tenure extension 'unwelcome'

Summary

• PKR deputy president aspirant Nurul Izzah Anwar criticises the government’s move to extend MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki’s tenure, calling it unwelcome.

• She also urges brave civil servants to ‘rise to the occasion’, without elaborating.

PKR deputy president candidate Nurul Izzah Anwar called the extension given to MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki "unwelcome".

"This was an unwelcome extension. The party (PKR) needs to stand for reforms - and we require the support of the rakyat and our members to do this.

"We ask brave and courageous civil servants and personalities to rise to the occasion," she said on X today.

Yesterday, Azam was granted his third extension as the MACC chief under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also PKR president.

Azam has been a controversial MACC chief. Among the current criticisms against him is the perception that the graft-busting agency dragged its feet in investigating the Sabah corruption scandal, in which multiple assemblypersons and state government leaders were implicated.

Nurul Izzah, Anwar's eldest daughter, did not comment on Azam's two previous extensions.

The former Permatang Pauh MP’s criticism comes as PKR moves to elect its central leadership later this month.

Nurul Izzah, prior to her nomination for the PKR deputy presidency, had vowed to make "the best decision" that balances unity with reform.

Nepotism talks

Her nomination had sparked criticism from some observers that the party is practising nepotism.

While Nurul Izzah has denied such allegations, her criticism of Azam's tenure extension appears to be the first time she has spoken up publicly against a move by her father's administration.

The last time she was notably at odds with Anwar was in November 2020, when she criticised the Pakatan Harapan leadership for calling off a vote against Budget 2021 at the last minute.

In the upcoming PKR party election, Nurul Izzah will be contesting against incumbent deputy president Rafizi Ramli, with whom she has been a close ally in the past.

If she wins, it could lay the foundations for her eventual ascension as PKR president.

Anwar - who won the presidency uncontested - will be serving his final term as party president after hitting the three-term limit.

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