KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — Setting up a shadow Cabinet is one of three key agendas for Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail who returned to Parliament today as Permatang Pauh MP and Opposition Leader.

Dr Wan Azizah said having a shadow Cabinet, an idea that was mooted before but failed to materialise due to irreconcilable differences, would serve as an effective oversight initiative that could help safeguard public interests.

“(As a start) Setting up a shadow Pakatan Rakyat Cabinet where each ministry will be represented by one MP from each party.

“The point is to strengthen check-and-balances to protect public interest,” she told reporters after taking oath as the new Permatang Pauh MP earlier this morning.

Dr Wan Azizah said healing relations among PR’s warring parties will also be a top agenda, and that this will be done through a “heart-to-heart” talk with all members in accordance with the agreements reached in the pact’s common policy framework.

The new Permatang Pauh MP said she will also push for a fiscal or budget parliamentary committee to be set up.

“This would make the Budget preparation more inclusive and democratic. The idea is to make transparency and accountability as the foundation for good governance,” she said.

Dr Wan Azizah was sworn in as the new Permatang Pauh MP today, replacing her husband Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who is now serving a jail sentence after being convicted of sodomising a former aide.

The PKR president was also made the new parliamentary Opposition Leader, putting to rest the months of uncertainty that had grappled the federal opposition pact after it was said that the three component parties could not agree on who should take up Anwar’s mantle.

But Dr Wan Azizah confirmed on Friday that she had the backing of PKR’s allies in PR and said she felt “honoured and humbled” by the unanimous support.

She had previously held the position before when Anwar was jailed for a similar offence back in 1998.