Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng, in response to the recent appointment of Kedah Umno chief Jamil Khir Baharom as Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s religious affairs adviser, said the appointment came at a time when the country was facing an economic crisis.

With each special adviser costing RM50,000 a month, including their staff, as earlier reported, Lim asked why the prime minister would be bringing in another person.

“Does Ismail not trust his Cabinet ministers to provide him the feedback that he needs, or are they deemed to be incompetent?

“If they are unable to perform their functions, at least they have officers who can be called upon to advise the prime minister, unless of course, Ismail can no longer trust anyone from within his Cabinet.

“Ismail appointed Senator Idris Ahmad as the religious affairs minister just three months ago. If he can no longer trust Idris because he is from PAS, the prime minister should replace him with Jamil.”

Lim called on Ismail and Idris to explain the situation given the amount of money being spent on the appointment, particularly in view of the country’s tenuous fiscal position.

“While Covid-19 is a global health issue, inflation, on the other hand, is largely caused by domestic issues which Ismail should address immediately,” said Lim, in reference to the statistics department recently announcing that inflation was on the rise.

“Inflation has deflated the value of the Malaysian ringgit, causing a rise in the prices of goods.

“Therefore, if anything, Ismai should replace all three advisers with a team of well-qualified economic advisers to help the government in bringing the country back on track again.”

Last month, Azalina Othman Said was appointed the prime minister’s law and human rights adviser.

In a parliamentary written reply this month, special functions minister Abdul Latiff Ahmad had also mentioned that Ismail had a special adviser on health matters, but the identity of the person was not revealed.