Mujahid on why he wrote ‘Letter from Cordova’ to Nurul Izzah

Amanah’s Mujahid Yusof Rawa says he has always maintained close ties with Nurul Izzah Anwar and they view each other as family.

GEORGE TOWN: Amanah’s Mujahid Yusof Rawa today said his flowery letter to Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar was merely a correspondence between a “senior” and a “junior”, due to close ties forged between the families over the years.

He said the contents of the letter were “honest” and the style of writing was normal as he has been a big fan of Malay literature over the years.

Furthermore, Mujahid said his father, PAS strongman Yusof Rawa, and Nurul Izzah’s father, PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, had always maintained close ties and viewed each other as family.

Speaking on the sidelines of an Islamic Development Department event at the Penang Hospital today, Mujahid said he never expected his open letter to become viral.

“I never knew it would become trendy as the letter was merely an honest letter from a senior to a junior.

“I wrote it because I have seen Nurul Izzah’s steady rise in politics and it came as a shock when she decided to quit all of her posts.

“This is not the first time I’ve used ‘bahasa sastera’ like this. Those in Parliament know that I love to recite pantun,” the Parit Buntar MP said.

Mujahid said he had gotten used to netizens trolling him over his letter, saying he views trolling as an “interesting” behaviour.

“The netizens should thank me. Because of me, everyone is using ‘kanda’ and ‘dinda’ now,” he said.

When asked if Izzah had replied him, Mujahid said: “That is a secret.”

Mujahid had written to Nurul Izzah asking her to rethink her decision to quit senior posts like PKR vice-president and Penang PKR chief. The post went viral on social media.

Netizens have since poked fun at Mujahid’s use of classical Malay words such as “adinda” (younger sister) and “kekanda” (older brother). They can also be used as terms of endearment.

Mujahid told the eldest daughter of Anwar Ibrahim that he could “hardly sleep thinking about your condition after your recent decision”.

“My dear Nurul Izzah, your name means light (Nur) that is filled with honour (Izzah),” reads another line in the letter titled “Letter from Cordova”.

Among others, Mujahid told Nurul that they both shared similar life experiences due to their fathers’ political careers.

“The old sayings come to mind, the apple does not fall far from the tree,” Mujahid said, using a Malay saying with the same meaning. - FMT