Farewell for now: Nurul Izzah talking to her supporters at the Yayasan Aman building in Penanti, Penang. — ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: Pakatan Harapan’s outing for the 15th General Election has been marred by the shocking loss of Nurul Izzah Anwar in Permatang Pauh, a seat which has been a family stronghold for 40 years.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow was the first to admit sadness and disappointment over the defeat during his speech after the announcement of the official results that very night.
“We are disappointed and sad to have lost the seat (Permatang Pauh). We also did not accomplish our aim of retaining at least 11 seats that we won in GE14,” he said.
The outcome of the national polls saw Pakatan winning 10 out of 13 parliamentary seats in Penang.
Yesterday, Nurul Izzah thanked voters in Permatang Pauh for giving her a chance to be their MP for a term.
“I consider it an honour to be a Member of Parliament here. And to the voters, I thank you for giving me hope and strength to serve all of you.
“To my supporters and party members, do not worry. God willing, I will be back!” she posted on Facebook.
Universiti Sains Malaysia’s (USM) Centre for Policy Research and International Studies associate director Dr Azeem Fazwan Ahmad Farouk said there were many factors that contributed to Nurul Izzah’s defeat in Permatang Pauh.
“There are issues affecting the constituency and voters felt that Nurul Izzah and her mother (Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail) had not done enough for them in the last two terms. This could have caused a dissatisfaction among the voters,” he said.
The senior lecturer also said the giant-killing feat by the Perikatan Nasional candidate could also be a sign that the Malay community wanted an alternative political party to represent them for the next five years.
“Muhammad Fawwaz Mohamad Jan is also quite a popular figure here, and voters are giving him a chance to be their MP,” he said.
As if to rub salt into the wound, Muhammad Fawwaz only managed to finish third when he contested for the Penanti seat in GE14, losing to eventual winner Dr Norlela Ariffin (Pakatan-PKR).
The Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat is considered Nurul Izzah’s family’s stronghold.
Her father, PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, held it from 1982 to 1999 when he was with Umno before her mother Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail held the seat from 1999 to 2008 under PKR.
In 2008, Anwar was again elected as the Permatang Pauh MP.
Dr Wan Azizah then went on to serve the constituency for three years from 2015 to 2018.
The Penang state assembly sitting will resume today until Friday and all talk will surely focus on Saturday’s election results and how Pakatan only managed to win 10 seats.
In GE14, Pakatan won 11 out of the 13 parliamentary seats it contested in Penang. The coalition was later left with 10 seats – DAP (seven) and PKR (three) – after PKR’s Nibong Tebal MP Datuk Mansor Othman defected to Bersatu.
For GE15, Umno lost all the four seats it contested, with the biggest casualty being former minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican who lost in Kepala Batas.
With this, Barisan Nasional returned empty handed from the 13 seats it contested.
