Permatang Pauh by-election: Wan Azizah finding it harder second time around

PERMATANG PAUH: The second time around is supposed to be easier, but that does not seem to be the case for Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (pic) in Permatang Pauh.

Her second bid to be the MP for Permatang Pauh is turning out to be much more difficult.

Her party which is used to being on the attack has found itself put on the defensive to explain how she will cope with being the MP for Permatang Pauh as well as the assemblywoman for Kajang, two constituencies which are 300km apart.

She showed her fighting spirit last night when asked yet again about her ability to juggle two seats.

"InsyaAllah, I am the party president. My deputy is the Mentri Besar. If I have any problems, I will ask the MB to handle. I can handle two jobs, give me the opportunity," she said after attending a late night function in Guar Perahu, a remote village on the hinterland side of Permatang Pauh.

Monday had been a long one for her. She was in Selangor for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's syariah court case. She then returned to Permatang Pauh in the afternoon where she made pit stops at a number of evening functions.

Her final stop was Guar Perahu where Haji Salleh Musa, a famous Tok Guru from a sekolah pondok in Sik, was giving his monthly religious lecture. She performed isyak prayers with the gathering before calling it a day.

Her supporters have also hit back at those who have labelled her a "recycled candidate" and "grandmother".

They are not off the mark because she is a devoted grandmother and this is the second time around for her in Permatang Pauh. Unfortunately, the public tends to forget that she was career woman in her own right before she gave it all up for marriage and family.

Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim shot off a fierce press statement in defence of her.

Dr Wan Azizah's challenge this time has less to do with her age or grandmother status than the fact that this is her second by-election in the space of about a year.

Her political journey in the last year or so has not exactly been exemplary of the new politics that her party claims to represent.

The Kajang by-election last year was seen as an abuse of the people's mandate. This was followed by her ambitious bid to become the Selangor Mentri Besar and which almost brought down the Selangor government.

Now she is asking the voters to give her another chance in the seat which she quit barely six months after winning it in the 2008 general election.

Moreover, her track record as an MP and assemblywoman has also not been impressive.

Surely she and her friends in Pakatan Rakyat cannot expect a dream campaign given all that. They will have to roll with the punches.

But Kak Wan is, without a doubt, a loyal wife and a loving mother and grandmother.