The family of Anwar Ibrahim hopes that the prison authorities would find it in their heart to allow the jailed politician some time off so that he could marry off his eldest daughter, Nurul Izzah next week.

They said that it was o­nly fair for Anwar to perform the akad nikah (marriage vows) ceremony to tie the union between Nurul Izzah and her fiancee Raja Ahmad Shahrir Iskandar Raja Salim o­n May 9.

Contacted today, Nurul Izzah reiterated her determination to get married in the presence of her father, who had since gave Raja Ahmad his approval following a meeting during o­ne of the court sessions.

Most important day

"I will not marry without my father. I want him to be there to witness my marriage vows. I hope to be married at home in the presence of all my family, close relatives and friends."

"I think this is a fair request for a daughter...to have her father present o­n her most important day. I hope the authorities will understand, " she said.

Asked if she was willing to postpone her marriage, Nurul Izzah said that would be the worst-case scenario and expressed her hope that the authorities would not deny their request.

She said her fiancee, an engineer whom she met at the height of the reformasi movement, had been informed o­n the possibilities of delays and changes.

"He and his family understand the difficulties that we are facing and I believe they will be supportive in whatever decisions we make," she said.

She said there should be no problem for the authorities to allow her father home as they had done the same in the case of Internal Security Act detainee, Saari Sungib, who is detained at the Kamunting detention camp.

First wedding

Her mother and Keadilan president, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail expressed similar hopes as this would be the first wedding for the family.

She said if Anwar's bail application is denied, she hoped the prison authorities would grant her husband a few hours to marry their daughter off.

Asked if she would want to resort to other options in the event her husband is denied soem time off, Wan Azizah said she has not thought about them.

"I am praying that he would be allowed home and perform the akad nikah for his daughter. This is very important not o­nly for us but especially for him and Izzah," she said.

Asked if Anwar's presence at their home in Damansara would cause chaos, Nurul Izzah said she was confident that the reformasi supporters would give their utmost cooperation to ensure that the wedding ceremony runs smoothly.

"I know they would never cause harm. I am sure that they understand my situation and there would not be any untoward incident," she said .

Religious requirement

Saari's wife Aliza Jaafar told malaysiakini that no o­ne can stop a father to perform his parental role to marry off his daughter - an obligation prescribed in the religion.

"When a father wants to perform his duty, no o­ne can stop him. They should not deny him the right to perform this duty," she said when contacted today.

She said when her daughter planned to marry last year, she made it clear to the officials that her daughter would o­nly get married with Saari's presence.

"I told them why should my daughter be married off by a stranger when her father is still alive. In the end, they allowed him a four-hour time out which enabled him to perform his duty as a father for the wedding ceremony," she said.