Amid nepotism claims, Nurul Izzah confirms bid for Number 2 role in Anwar’s party against Rafizi

JOHOR BAHRU: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar and Malaysia’s Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli will go head-to-head in polls later this month for the Number Two position in Anwar’s party. 

Nurul Izzah confirmed on Friday (May 9) she will contest for the deputy presidency of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), while incumbent Rafizi said his nomination has been accepted. 

Whoever wins will be the presumptive heir apparent to Anwar, who looks set to be re-elected PKR president without a contest.

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, who is touted as the third potential candidate for the post, has not confirmed if he will run. Nominations close at 11.59pm on Friday.

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In a Facebook post on Friday afternoon, Nurul Izzah, 44, expressed hope that her nomination would “rebuild the party’s internal strength” so that it could boost the party’s organisation and presence at the grassroots level. 

She rejected claims that running for the post signals nepotism and dynasty politics in the party. 

“Even if I were to clinch the position of deputy president, I am not interested in any Cabinet post,” wrote Nurul Izzah. 

“I believe that those who read this statement with rationality can distinguish between nepotism – being appointed to a position by a family member – and a position attained through a contest voted on by the grassroots,” she added. 

Nurul Izzah’s nomination follows a wave of support from party bigwigs including Selangor Chief Minister Amirudin Shari, PKR youth chief Adam Adli and Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek. 

The party’s deputy information chief R Ramanan was quoted in media reports saying that more than 150 out of 222 PKR divisions have pledged support for Nurul Izzah’s nomination. 

Rafizi, 47, confirmed he would defend his post on Wednesday with Anwar’s blessing.

At around 4.40pm on Friday, his press secretary Farhan Iqbal confirmed to reporters that Rafizi’s nomination had gone through. 

Rafizi has been in the spotlight this week after his leave of absence sparked speculation that he might resign from the Cabinet and step aside from contesting at the PKR leadership polls.

At the party’s divisional polls last month, several bigwigs aligned with him were defeated by opponents believed to be aligned with Anwar, thus weakening his chances of defending his post.

He said he had met party president Anwar as well as Saifuddin during his leave of absence and told them he was willing to not defend his party post and to leave the Cabinet to focus on grassroots work. 

“Both of them said that there was a need for me to contest the deputy president’s post and remain in the Cabinet,” said Rafizi. 

GOOD CHANCE OF WINNING, BUT SHOULD NURUL IZZAH STAND AT ALL?

Nurul Izzah, who is currently one of PKR’s four vice-presidents, stands a strong chance of winning given the support she has received from party divisional chiefs, said Azmi Hassan, a senior fellow at the Malaysia-based think-tank Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research.

Should Saifuddin decide not to contest, she would be odds-on to win against Rafizi as votes would not be split, he added.

“Rafizi has been a divisive figure in PKR because of his straightforward, crude style of leadership which many of the party’s grassroots have not taken kindly to. Can he turn it around and canvass enough support?” said Azmi. 

“It will be difficult because many aligned to him have lost their positions as divisional chiefs and these individuals have the power to send specific candidates to attend the congress and cast their vote,” he added. 

But Nurul Izzah’s candidacy may be clouded by talk of nepotism as it is likely that many divisional chiefs had pledged support for her because of her father’s position in the party, he said.

“The winner of this post will likely be the successor to Anwar as party chief in three years' time. And after the next election, if PKR remains in power, it will pave the way for her to be prime minister,” said Azmi. 

In such a scenario, “I think it will be better for there to be (an interim appointment) between Anwar and Izzah as having a father as prime minister, and daughter taking over, would create uneasiness for those in the party and across the country”, he added. 

Political analyst James Chin, a professor of Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania, said with Nurul Izzah stepping forward to contest, Anwar is giving ammunition to other political parties and his political opponents.

"Anwar is so blatant, allowing the daughter to contest. Even if Nurul is competent, it is public perception that counts in politics, especially during elections. It is a bad look for Anwar," said Chin. 

Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad deflected nepotism charges by not permitting his children to take up senior posts in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) when he was in charge of the party, Chin noted. 

"If I were Nurul, I would not take up this contest and if I were Anwar, I would put a stop to it,” Chin said. “Doing this will permanently hurt her brand.”

11 CANDIDATES VIE FOR FOUR VICE-PRESIDENT POSTS

Meanwhile, 11 people have thrown their hats into the ring for PKR’s four vice-president posts as of Friday evening. 

These include incumbents Amirudin, Negeri Sembilan chief minister Aminuddin Harun, Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad as well as Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang. 

They will be challenged by Ramanan, who is also Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister, Segamat Member of Parliament R Yuneswaran, Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin, party deputy secretary-general Sathia Prakash Nadarajan, senator Abun Sui Anyit, former Selangor exco member Hee Loy Sian, and former PKR vice-president Mustaffa Kamil Ayub.

Campaigning will take place from May 15 to 22, and delegates will cast their votes at the party’s national congress on May 23.