Malaysia PM’s daughter trolled after losing job as election warrior

MALAYSIA: Nurul Izzah Anwar, daughter of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, is making the headlines again, but this time after she was ‘fired’ as the election director of her father’s party, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

While PKR secretary-general Fuziah Salleh said it was a reshuffle, the internet in Malaysia is buzzing over the impact of her replacement by the Chief Minister of Selangor, Amiruddin Shari.

Supporters and leaders of the Bersama party, the party newly launched by the former PKR strongman Rafizi Ramli, made Nurul Izzah the talk of the town.

Many were interested to know if she is leaving the PKR for Bersama, while some influential figures from the new party said she might join the party in the end.

However, Anwar’s party did not say why it decided to appoint vice-president Amirudin Shari as its election director alongside Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, replacing deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar.

Secretary-General Fuziah Salleh said the reshuffle was decided by the political bureau as part of a strategic realignment in the party to smooth and better coordinate its work processes in preparing for upcoming elections.

“In this next phase, Nurul Izzah will continue playing a strategic role by specifically focusing on developing the capacity of PKR’s election machinery and workflow.

“This focus is part of the party investing in each grassroots member so that PKR’s strength continues to be built holistically and continuously at all levels,” Fuziah said in a statement.

As deputy President, Nurul Izzah was expected to be the ‘election’ warrior or face of the PKR for election strategies and perhaps for the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition altogether.

Her demotion has stirred debate over PKR’s move, given that Selangor’s Chief Minister led the 2023 state polls, where PKR lost many seats it had conquered in 2018 in the state assembly.

Since she was elected the party’s deputy leader in April last year, Nurul Izzah has been silent on most national and political issues that made the headlines since then.

Running as the deputy leader, she pledged to uphold reformasi principles and said she would demand that the then Malaysia Anti-Corruption Agency’s head, Azam Baki, be removed.

It took a lot of pressure from coalition partners in the Madani government, headed by Anwar, for Azam Baik to be replaced this month.

In an op-ed on Facebook, influencer Betty Teh said

Nurul Izzah Anwar has gone quiet. “And I do wonder — is she at odds with her party, with her father, or with her own conscience? Perhaps all of the above.”

Iswardy Morni, another influencer and former political figure from PKR who is now with Bersama, also questioned the role played by Nurul Izzah in recent times.

Iswardy, in a Facebook post on 26 May, said Nurul Izzah is unwell and that she has not been active in the PKR for the past year.

He said it was strange that Nurul Izzah did not attend the recent PKR convention in Johor, attended by all other PKR leaders and ministers.

Iswardy also said it is true that Nurul Izzah had resigned as PKR deputy leader a month ago, but she denied it after intense pressure on her.