AYER KEROH: PKR must rise above decades of hostility towards its political rivals and build bridges in Putrajaya to strengthen the unity government, says Nurul Izzah Anwar.
The PKR deputy president said party members must take the “higher road” despite decades of being vilified by political opponents.
“Those who were in Putrajaya before we fully took over did not know who we were. They only knew us as one entity after another.
“So when we went there, they had been told for so long, for decades, that ‘they are the devils, the ones selling out the country’.
“At their general assemblies, whose picture did they put up as the enemy of the country? The picture of our president.
“They defamed us, as if we did not have any dignity, and this is a fact,” she said during her winding-up speech on the president’s policy speech at the 2026 PKR National Congress on Sunday (Aug 16).
Nurul Izzah said PKR’s participation in the unity government was a test that required its members to rise above past animosity and work towards a common goal.
“So when we entered that space, God was testing us. When you are a good person, a good human being, a good soul, we have to take the higher road.
“That is our test. Yes, there is the position of Prime Minister and there are concerns that some agencies are still under ministries controlled by other parties.
“But this is not something I will use as an excuse. I want to use that anger to find a way to build bridges in Putrajaya.
“Get to know who we really are. If you do not know us, you cannot love us,” she said.
Nurul Izzah said the experience also reflected the reality of reform, which required both external and internal changes.
“If we look at our struggle and what we have faced, reform becomes stronger if we offer constructive criticism, but it must also be a consistent struggle.
“I see all of this in a different context. This is the experience that will make us more mature,” she said.
