Wan Azizah to defend Permatang Pauh seat

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail will defend the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in the coming general election, ending speculation that her daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar would contest the seat instead.

"I am the incumbent, I will defend my seat. Changes happen but at the moment, I will defend my seat," Dr Wan Azizah said during an interview with a local news portal on Thursday (Jan 18).

Speculation was rife that Nurul Izzah, 37, would contest in Permatang Pauh.

In December last year, an English-language newspaper quoted Nurul Izzah as saying that she would not rule out the possibility of contesting the seat in the 14th General Election.

Anwar won the Permatang Pauh seat in 1982 and held it until 1999 when he was jailed for abuse of power.

Dr Wan Azizah then contested and won the seat that year, as well as in the 2004 and 2008 general elections.

On July 31, 2008, she vacated the seat to make way for Anwar, who won the seat during the by-election.

The seat fell vacant again when Anwar was disqualified after being found guilty of sodomy.

Dr Wan Azizah contested in the 2015 by-election and won.