Nurul Izzah, Saifuddin appointed PKR election directors

Summary

• Nurul Izzah Anwar and Saifuddin Nasution Ismail are now PKR election directors.

• Party info chief Fahmi Fadzil says their appointment follows a meeting between the political bureau and the central leadership council.

• During the meeting, party leaders expressed their gratitude to former PKR election director Rafizi Ramli’s service to the party.

Nurul Izzah Anwar and Saifuddin Nasution Ismail have been appointed as joint election directors for PKR.

Party information chief Fahmi Fadzil said PKR’s political bureau and central leadership council held a meeting today in which members expressed their gratitude for Rafizi Ramli’s service.

Rafizi - who recently resigned as economy minister after he lost the party’s deputy presidency to Nurul Izzah - was the PKR election director from 2022 to 2025.

“The meeting also expressed its highest appreciation for the sacrifices, contributions, and service of the former deputy president and other leaders, and hoped that they would continue to contribute to the party and the struggle.

“The meeting also discussed current issues, including global geopolitics and economics, as well as the level of preparation of the party machinery to face the Sabah state election,” Fahmi said in a statement today.

In his newly launched podcast yesterday, Rafizi expressed his belief that there is no reason for him to remain in the cabinet if the ministerial position comes at the cost of him losing his ability to voice certain views.

He would merely be a “lame duck” minister if he had opted to stay on after losing in the recently concluded PKR polls, said the Pandan MP.

In his statement, Fahmi announced that the other appointees remain the same.

Fuziah Salleh (secretary-general), William Leong (treasurer-general), Fahmi (information chief), and Mustapha Sakmud (Sabah chairperson) all retained their posts.

Rafizi’s resignation from the cabinet was followed by his ally Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, who resigned as the natural resources and environmental sustainability minister after failing to defend his division chief and vice-president post.

The PKR election was divisive, with critics questioning if Nurul Izzah’s win was due to nepotism as her father Anwar Ibrahim is the party president and prime minister.

The polls also saw claims of irregularities, which prompted the party’s top leadership to hold an emergency meeting.

A strange trend emerged during the divisional polls, during which several factions won the committee elections, only to have their faction leader lose the contest for division head.

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