Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar speaks to Malay Mail during an interview at her office in Kuala Lumpur April 9, 2022. – Picture by Yusof Mat Isa
KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar said no grand design or magic trick can put Pakatan Harapan (PH) back in Putrajaya.
The PKR lawmaker told Malay Mail that short term solutions in politics only work for a while and such a simplistic approach would fail in the long run.
“There is no grand design for us to rise to power, the populist thing would be to say ‘I have the exact magic trick… the kryptonite for Barisan Nasional’ but in life there is no such thing.
“So you can be a one-trick pony, you can survive for a while but then [the real question is] how do you survive a longer term,” she said in a recent interview.
PH won the 14th general election in 2018, unseating Barisan Nasional for the first time in six decades.
The PH government however was short-lived, after former component Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia shifted its alliance to Perikatan Nasional with enemies-turned-allies Umno and PAS.
Working together with former Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli, who is also gunning for the PKR deputy president post, in a campaign dubbed Ayuh Malaysia, Nurul Izzah said that it is going to be a long and hard process to win back the public’s trust in the system after being betrayed on several occasions in the past three years.
Last month, Rafizi launched the Ayuh Malaysia campaign to attract the support of voters sitting on the fence as the country gears up for the 15th general election.
He said the decision to launch the campaign was taken after taking into account the results of the Johor state election and the views of various parties in PKR.
“One of the key items that I agree with [Rafizi] is on the issue of product differentiation with [PKR] throughAyuh Malaysia as you need to define that you are the best choice,” she added.
It was reported yesterday that Nurul Izzah confirmed she will not participate in the party’s election and will focus on wooing the fence sitters through the Ayuh Malaysia campaign.
Nurul Izzah, who is also a former PKR vice-president, said that although she is abstaining from the party election, she will be supporting those who are running and hopes that people will play fair.
So far, 17 candidates have thrown their hats in the ring for the four vice-president posts, with Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari and Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun leading the list.
Meanwhile, Rafizi will face secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail for the number two post, while Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is the sole nominee for the post of president.