PETALING JAYA: Forty years after Anwar Ibrahim was elected as Permatang Pauh MP, the seat does not appear to be falling to other political parties despite the huge challenge his daughter Nurul Izzah is expected to face in the general election, according to analysts.
Permatang Pauh, considered Anwar’s “family seat”, has been held by him, his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and daughter Nurul Izzah since 1982.
While two political analysts think it’s going to be a walk in the park for the “anak Permatang Pauh” on Nov 19, Nurul Izzah expressed cautious optimism, saying each election poses different sets of challenges and the voters should not be taken for granted.
James Chin, a professor of Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania, said Nurul Izzah or any of Anwar’s family members will be safe in the constituency.
“For the coming general election, Nurul Izzah is pretty safe partly because of the history of the constituency and the political culture there. The people there appear to be proud that this is Anwar’s family seat.
“It will be very difficult to unseat them. The new voters are also expected to benefit Nurul Izzah. And if they come out in (large) numbers, the seat will be even safer.
“The other reason is Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional are chasing the same votes, making it easier for Pakatan Harapan,” he told FMT.
For Sivamurugan Pandian of Universiti Sains Malaysia, Nurul Izzah should make it with relative ease as she has been projected as a promising candidate to top Malaysia’s political arena in the future.
“Permatang Pauh is still a PKR stronghold with good networking built by Anwar since 1982. Nurul Izzah has the advantage because besides being Anwar’s daughter, she herself has built her own branding in the political scenario.
“She also has the advantage of incumbency so many voters here may not only vote for the candidate but also her party’s symbol,” he told FMT.
The other main contenders for the seat are Mohd Zaidai Said of Barisan Nasional, Muhammad Fawwaz Mat Jan (PAS) and Mohd Nasir Othman (Pejuang).
In 1982, Anwar wrested the seat from PAS and held it until 1999 when he was sacked as the deputy prime minister by then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and was remanded in prison while facing sodomy and corruption charges .
His wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail stood there and won in the 1999 general election and held the seat until 2008.
In August 2008, she resigned to allow Anwar to win the by-election to enable his return to Parliament after he was released from prison. He retained the seat in 2013 but was disqualified after being convicted for sodomy in 2015.
Wan Azizah re-took the seat in the subsequent by-election and held it until GE14 when Nurul Izzah defended the seat for PKR.
Rising again after betrayals
Nurul Izzah, asked by FMT about the possibility of Permatang Pauh slipping out of her family’s hands this time, said she will not take her voters for granted.
“We are doing our very best to energise our base and encourage the new voters to come out and support us. Nonetheless, the basis of electoral threats hinges on a united front presented by either side,” she said.
She said although the challenge is expected to be tough, the party has undergone quite a tumultuous internal cleansing after the Sheraton Move (leading to the PH federal government being toppled) and later by a quite intense party election.
“As a result, the top leadership of today are mostly first time PKR members, committed to reforms and resolved in enacting meaningful change. Every election cycle poses its own unique set of challenges, they cannot really be compared.
“Nonetheless, the challenge this time is to rise again following betrayals. We have cleansed the party of these influences and the reformists of today must now work hard to win over the people’s trust.
“It’s hard work but we are building momentum and we aren’t giving up,” she said. - FMT
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