Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has dismissed accusations of nepotism with regard to her husband Anwar Ibrahim contesting in the upcoming Port Dickson by-election.

"Is there a problem? Because I thought we were voted by the rakyat," she told reporters in Petaling Jaya today.

She was asked on whether elements of nepotism would arise with three members of her family, including her daughter Nurul Izzah, and possibly Anwar soon, becoming parliamentarians.

Yesterday, PKR's Port Dickson MP Danyal Balagopal Abdullah had announced that he would vacate his seat to pave the way for Anwar to return to the Dewan Rakyat.

The move raised the ire of various quarters, including those within PKR, with the party's Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin asking Anwar to state his stand on the move, as it was not done with consultation through the proper channels.

Several netizens also opined that Anwar should wait until the 15th general election to become the prime minister.

Commenting on this, Wan Azizah defended her husband, saying he has long been denied to be in the Dewan Rakyat.

"He was jailed for like, 10, 11 years, and now you all are saying he is impatient?

"This is the best time and he still wants to contribute (to the rakyat) after being denied the chance to be in the Parliament, (the chance) was taken from him," she added.

In the 14th general election, Danyal won the Port Dickson seat with 36,225 votes, defeating BN's V Mogan (18,515) and PAS' Mahfuz Rosman (6,594).