PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan (PH) has not yet decided whether it will accept former Umno members who have expressed their desire to join parties in the coalition, said PH chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said this matter would be discussed with Umno leaders soon, out of respect for Umno which is part of the Unity Government.
“We take note of some ex-Umno members that have expressed their intention to join us. We will discuss it with Umno leaders,” he told a news conference after chairing the PKR central leadership council meeting here today.
On Jan 27, Umno sacked 44 members, including former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, for offences committed during the 15th General Election last November.
On another issue, Anwar, who is the prime minister, gave an assurance that his daughter Nurul Izzah would never abuse her position as his senior adviser on economics and finance, reiterating that she was not getting paid for her work.
“There is no possibility of her using that position to amass wealth and influence decisions on tenders, contracts or projects.
“Yes, I need her expertise to assist me but let me emphasise that she is there to protect and pursue the agenda of good governance and incorruptibility.
“Thus, I take a strong position against those who have criticised the appointment, particularly those who have awarded billions or hundreds of millions of ringgit of contracts to their son or son-in-law, or cronies, when they were in power,” he said.
Several parties have criticised Anwar over the appointment but he defended it by saying his daughter was qualified for the job as she had degrees in engineering, and public and social policy.
Anwar said he respected the views of citizens who seemed concerned that Nurul Izzah might use that position for personal and family benefits.
“I can assure you that will not happen under my administration,” he said. - Bernama
