Saifuddin: Nurul Izzah must 'decide for herself' on active role
Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar has to "decide for herself" if she wants to make a return to active politics, said PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
With the Pakatan Harapan leadership engaged in debates over its future direction, the call for younger leaders to step forward has increased and Nurul Izzah, first elected as Lembah Pantai MP in 2008, is among the first names cited.
"She was elected as the vice-president during the (2018) party polls and, of course, there were...
Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar has to "decide for herself" if she wants to make a return to active politics, said PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
With the Pakatan Harapan leadership engaged in debates over its future direction, the call for younger leaders to step forward has increased and Nurul Izzah, first elected as Lembah Pantai MP in 2008, is among the first names cited.
"She was elected as the vice-president during the (2018) party polls and, of course, there were some disagreements between her and the Harapan government, especially with former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, that triggered her to resign as a member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
"However, she continues to play an important role as Nurul Izzah's strength in the party is on election matters," Saifuddin told news portal The Vibes.
In December 2018, she also resigned as PKR vice-president, just a month after she was elected to the position with the most votes in the party election.
"There are beliefs and ideals I hold dear and I feel that I can be most true to them by taking this course of action that I am now announcing," she had said in her resignation statement at the time.
Last July, Nurul Izzah said she would return to her duty to strengthen the party machinery but did not want to be embroiled in politicking and refused to engage in a political debate over Harapan's prime ministerial candidate.
Saifuddin said PKR grassroots members were eager to see Nurul Izzah take on a more active role again.
"I personally received many demands from the public and party members on the need for Nurul Izzah to resurface and come forward to play a prominent role in the party compared with her present role.
"I leave it to her wisdom to decide on her path to return to the political mainstream. I don't see Nurul Izzah, though, as walking out or shying away. She is actively involved in her constituency and the party," the Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP added.
Saifuddin said that he was holding weekly meetings with Nurul Izzah on the party's preparations for the next general election and that she had also been working closely with PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli on data analysis.
"What makes PKR different from other parties is that we always prepare for elections based on databases,” he added.
Rafizi too had taken a step back from politics, announcing last year that he preferred to focus on his passion for technological advancements and his start-up business.
However last week, he broke his silence to warn Anwar Ibrahim to act immediately against certain individuals in the party he called "scoundrels and opportunists". He said they had surrounded the PKR president and brought a dangerous culture to the party.
Rafizi also cautioned that while he may be dormant, he could be stirred into action if provoked.
