PUTRAJAYA, Dec 20 ― PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail is still holding out hope that Nurul Izzah Anwar will reconsider her resignation as the party’s Penang chief, pointing out that he had not received any letter from her on the matter yet.

He told reporters today that the support from the 13 Penang PKR branches for Nurul Izzah as their state chief was strong, leaving party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim with little choice but to appoint her to the post.

Revealing that he had met the Permatang Pauh MP two days ago, he said it would be ideal if she accepted the post.

“If she changes her mind that will be better. But if that does not happen, I believe that the president will look at the matter again if there is really a need. But for now, as we are aware, Nurul Izzah has decided not to accept it (the Penang PKR chief’s post),” Saifuddin said.

To a question, Saifuddin said he had not received any “black or white” from Nurul Izzah on her resignation or from Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim who also quit as the Johor PKR chief.

He said that if Nurul Izzah and Hassan are fixed on rejecting the appointments, he believed that Anwar will consult leaders of both states before making any announcements.

Nurul Izzah had announced on Dec 17 that she was relinquishing her post as Penang chief as well as a PKR vice-president and other federal government appointments, including as chairman of the special task force on the problem-riddled Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET).

Soon after Nurul Izzah made her move, Hassan said that he was stepping down as Johor PKR chief, saying he wants a more transparent system to appoint state chiefs so that their legitimacy will not be questioned.

The reason behind Nurul Izzah’s decision to quit remains a source of debate although she had chalked it down to the rapid political changes that have taken place within her party and nationally since campaigning in the May 9 general election.

“Now that I have had the chance to take stock of where I stand in relation to politics, I am resolved to doing the right thing,” she had said.