COMMENTARY, Dec 17 — A leader in the calibre of Nurul Izzah Anwar is hard to find in this country.
Blessed with an enviable pedigree and thrust into politics at a very young age gave Nurul Izzah Anwar the “Puteri Reformasi” moniker.
But her candour, steadfastness, and indomitable spirit has made her beloved not only by the public, but across the political divide.
In short, she has the makings of the country’s first female prime minister. But for those among us who are rooting for her to achieve that height in the next one or two general elections may see our hopes dashed today.
Her statement today announcing her resignation as PKR vice-president and the party’s Penang chapter chief took many by surprise.
She also said that she will no longer serve Putrajaya in any capacity, while her roles in state level government-linked companies will be decided by the party’s leadership.
The Permatang Pauh MP did not state the reason behind her surprise decision, leaving behind more questions than answers.
There is no question of respecting her wishes, but this is doubly frustrating when one considers that Nurul Izzah was never given much freedom to shine in the first place, ever since the Pakatan Harapan (PH) victory on May 9 — and some might posit, since the release of her father Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the prime minister-in-waiting.
Just over a week after the victory while Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Cabinet was still coalescing, Anwar had then told Al Jazeera’s 101 East talk show that Nurul Izzah “was not interested” in a Cabinet post.
It is undeniable that she would have been placed in a difficult position since her mother Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was already sworn in as the deputy prime minister, while we would find out later that Anwar was just months away from returning to Parliament.
But her absence was felt, especially so when the Cabinet itself failed to fulfill PH’s pledge for a 30 per cent quota of women.
We never really knew what Nurul Izzah’s thought were, since somebody else spoke on her behalf, not until September when she told Bernama that one can contribute no matter what one’s position is, and that it is important to protect the reform agenda.
“[A Cabinet post] is a wonderful thing, but I’m very happy to serve Permatang Pauh and being a mother for my two lovely children and being a loving citizen of my country,” she reportedly said.
Izzah told Malay Mail in a June interview that she will play the part of “reformer” since she has to take a back seat, and she reiterated that pledge today, urging the public and stakeholders to give constructive criticism to ensure the reform agenda gets implemented.
In her statement, she expressed regret that the decision did not come sooner. But perhaps it was no coincidence that it came at the back of accusations that the choice of PKR’s new state chiefs — including herself — reeked of nepotism, cronyism and favouritism.
And amid the move by PH parties to “collect” discarded Umno refuse, thus ensuring that Malaysian politics may yet be dominated by the same old mostly male faces, those like Nurul Izzah’s should not be pushed to the back, not by her own party.
After the divisive PKR polls results were announced, Nurul Izzah was pictured holding back tears.
Should her withdrawal today mean the country will lose a future leader — arguably through no fault of her own — then the nation should shed a tear for her too.
