SINCE Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (picture) has decreed that nepotism is not nepotism if the kith and kin involved are not paid, Malaysia can now look forward to being one big, happy family.

If the caveat is observed, it is then accepted, in essence, not antithetical to reforms, imagine how endless the possibilities can be.

If each family member in government service employs other family members down the line who agree to perform their tasks pro bono and doing it for the love of the nation, Malaysia would save millions if not billions in wages and, hopefully in allowances.

On the flip side, in many ways than not, Anwar is providing the nation his definition of nepotism, or rather what is not.

And this definition should be the yardstick for his diehards and self-proclaimed reformists, if and when and should the need arise, for them to go to the streets to save the nation from the clutches of nepotistic leaders after Anwar.

Then, they would not have to struggle to defend their position, offering caveats and spins, when others define nepotism as per what they understood in the past.

It will then allow everyone in Malaysia to be one big happy family earlier without having to go through the trauma of being ostracised on social media and other public platforms.

Despite Anwar’s explanation and adamance to defend his appointment of his daughter to oversee government contracts that can run into billions of ringgits, it still seems to run contrary to the Pakatan Harapan government of 2018, then led by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Though most of the present supporters of PH tend to be dismissive of the previous PH Government, accusing that it had failed in reforms because it was led by a non-reformist.

Anwar, prior to the 15th general election, at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand accused Dr Mahathir of not believing in reforms and that he was into racial politics when he assumed the PM’s post, which Anwar added, was against PH’s multi-racial agenda.

But if Anwar’s statement is measured today against what Dr Mahathir did when he became the PM the second time around, the latter obviously tried hard to observe the reforms outlined by the PH manifesto.

From the word go, Dr Mahathir did not take up the Finance Minister post though he was the one successful to turn Malaysia around from the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s while Anwar and his reformasi (reformation) supporters were busy protesting on the streets, ironically, against nepotism and corruption.

As the PH’s PM, Dr Mahathir even refused to appoint Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was the president of his Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) to the post. Muhyiddin was reportedly very upset and threatened to quit the party and was only pacified after Dr Mahathir requested him to reconsider.

Instead, Dr Mahathir appointed DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, making him the first non-Malay to assume the Finance Minister post since 1974.

Dr Mahathir then wanted to be the Education Minister because he believed he had some ideas to transform the education system which was perceived to be too Malay/Islamic-centric which made it unappealing to the non-Malays.

But he was reminded by his colleagues in PH that its manifesto did not allow the PM to hold two portfolios and that included other portfolios apart from the Finance Ministry.

Dr Mahathir agreed without a protest and appointed Dr Maszlee Malek who went on to be the centre of the black shoe, and Jawi script controversies.

Dr Maszlee too was not spared from Dr Mahathir’s readiness to institute reforms and when the former decided to appoint himself as the International Islamic University’s president that drew extensive protest from the students, Dr Mahathir stepped in.

He instructed Dr Maszlee to give up the post which the latter finally did, only reluctantly, after dragging his feet to do so.

After several incidents in which Dr Maszlee was,to Dr Mahathir, proving to be less and less of a team player, especially after the Jawi script controversy, he decided to remove him as the Education Minister.

Dr Mahathir took over Education until a Cabinet reshuffle could be instituted and that did not occur as the PH Government had fallen not too long after.

And despite Anwar’s accusation of Dr Mahathir reverting to racial politics after assuming the PM’s post, he appointed Sabahan Tun Richard Malanjum as the Chief Justice, the first from a Borneo state, and Tan Sri Tommy Thomas as the Attorney General.

Dr Mahathir then had also opposed the detention without trial of several individuals of allegedly being Tamil Tigers (LTTE) supporters which chagrined Muhyiddin, then the Home Minister.

To Dr Mahathir, his commitment to reforms included stopping the use of provisions that allowed for detention without trial.

And Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat became the first female Chief Justice ever under Dr Mahathir’s watch.

Lest people forget, Anwar’s wife, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail being the first female Deputy Prime Minister ever, also under Dr Mahathir’s watch.

Anwar, despite PH’s decree that the PM must not hold the Finance Minister’s portfolio, took up the post without hesitance only to let his lieutenants to scramble  defending and justifying the reneged promises.

Anwar’s commitment to oppose corruption was also questioned following his appointment of Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as his deputy.

His appointment of former Umno stalwart Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz as the ambassador to the US seems to have added to Anwar’s coterie of reforms antithesis.

And of course, the Nurul Izzah saga. All these were achieved by Anwar less than 80 days of being in office. It is quite an achievement by any measure.

For the diehards and self-styled reformists, at least the conscientious ones, it’s time they learn a couple of new phrases to add to their limited coterie of chants.

One, is to shout themselves hoarse. The other is to turn blue. – pic credit: Anwar Ibrahim FB

• Shamsul Akmar is an editor at The Malaysian Reserve.