Maria Chin: In a democracy, Anwar has the right to stand for election

PETALING JAYA: Former Bersih 2.0 chair Maria Chin Abdullah believes that no one can stop Datuk Seri Anwar Abdullah from contesting in a by-election in a democratic country.

Maria, who is also Petaling Jaya MP, said that everyone has the right to stand for an election, but sounded a note of caution over concerns about nepotism.

"We have to monitor the situation so nepotism does not occur.

"I believe all MPs and assemblyman have a vision for a democratic country and we will move towards that so we will correct anything that falls out of it," she added.

Maria was commenting on PKR president-elect Anwar's plan to stand in a by-election in Port Dickson following the decision of the incumbent MP Datuk Daniyal Balagobal Abdullah to quit the seat.

The plan, dubbed the "PD Move", paves the way for Anwar to return to Parliament, but has come under fire from some quarters who accuse him of wanting to start a dynasty.

Anwar's wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah is the Deputy Prime Minister and Pandan MP, while his daughter Nurul Izzah is Permatang Pauh MP.

Maria was speaking during the launch of her mobile office in Taman Medan on Saturday (Sept 15).

Present at the press conference were Taman Medan assemblyman Syamsul Firdaus Mohamad Supri, Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran and newly-elected Seri Setia assemblyman Halimey Abu Bakar.

Syamsul said that any number of people from a family could become elected representatives and that worries about nepotism would only occur if they were all holding ministerial positions as well.

Halimey also reiterated that Anwar had announced that Dr Wan Azizah would step down as Deputy Prime Minister once he enters government. Nurul Izzah does not hold a ministerial post.

When asked about Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's statement on the possibility of reviewing the Pakatan Harapan GE14 manifesto, Maria said she agreed with his view.

She said that manifestos are not set in stone and could be reviewed for improvement.

"We will keep our promises and we will improve on any gaps in the manifesto as well," Maria added.

She said that when Pakatan Harapan made the manifesto they did not have inside information on the country's economic state. However, after taking over they have a better understanding of the situation to make the necessary amendments.

"For example, we did not know how deep the debts were so at the upcoming budget we will be tightening the belt.

"We may not be setting up any committee to review the manifesto but it is up to the particular ministries to make the adjustments as per the political and economic situation," Maria said.