Afif: Nurul Izzah’s exit may be due to political dissatisfaction

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Nurul Izzah Anwar’s decision to resign as party vice-president and relinquish her appointment as chairman of Pen­ang PKR could have stemmed from her dissatisfaction and disappointment over the party’s direction and the current political scenario, says Permatang Pauh PKR division deputy chief Dr Afif Bahardin.

The division expressed its regret and shock over the decision.

“There must be certain events that would have led to this kind of announcement.

“It is crucial that the leadership figure out why Nurul Izzah made the drastic decision.

“We also urge PKR’s top leadership to take proactive steps and reform the unity and confidence of members.

“The leadership needs to take inclusive approaches and be open and wise to ensure the continuity of the party’s reformation and struggles,” Dr Afif told reporters during a press conference at the party office in Jalan Baru here yesterday.

Asked if the resignation might have something to do with Nurul Izzah’s family ties in the party leadership, he said her appointments had been elected and endorsed by members.

Her father Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is currently PKR president after winning the post in the recent party election.

The post was previously held by her mother Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Also present at the press conference were Permatang Pauh PKR deputy chief Amir Ghazali and the division’s secretary Hasbul Syafiqi.

Nurul Izzah is the Permatang Pauh MP. She said she would continue serving as the elected representative until her term was over.

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 in 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 the seat.

In the 14th general election in May, Nurul Izzah contested the seat and won it with a majority of 15,668 votes.