‘Puteri Reformasi’ Nurul Izzah, the eldest daughter of PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, is all set to make her electoral debut, likely in the Lembah Pantai parliamentary seat in Kuala Lumpur.
The party’s Kuala Lumpur elections director Salehuddin Hashim confirmed that candidates would be fielded in four of the 11 parliamentary seats in the Federal Territory, which does not have state seats.
"We are contesting the Batu, Wangsa Maju, Bandar Tun Razak and Lembah Pantai seats, and will field senior party officers. Although Nurul Izzah is not a senior member, she will be the best candidate for Lembah Pantai," he said when contacted.
He also said he would personally manage her election campaign with a ‘special’ team.
Contacted for comments, Nurul Izzah, 29, agreed that she is a potential candidate for the Lembah Pantai seat, but that this cannot be confirmed until the party finalises its list.
"I don’t necessarily need to be a candidate to help the people...I have been assisting with ceramah (public talks) and raising awareness among the voters.
"I have been talking to squatters who were given low-cost housing with inhumane conditions. They must know that their vote can change these things.
"I feel it is always good to be part of the community. I don’t think being a people’s representative is glamourous. It’s not," she said with a laugh.
Nurul Izzah is currently Anwar’s political coordinator. Her foray into the upcoming general election is a natural progression of exposure to opposition politics. She was very much part of the reformasi campaign and general election of 1999, following the sacking of her father from all government and political posts.
Last year, she declared herself ready to take the first step into active politics. Although nominated for the party polls then, she had to pull out for family reasons.
Seat talks ‘almost done’
If she is fielded in Lembah Pantai, she will be up against three-term incumbent Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who is also minister for women, family and community development.
In the 2004 general election, PKR’s Sanusi Osman polled 11,186 votes but lost to Barisan Nasional’s Shahrizat by 15,288 votes. (see Chart)
This time around, PKR expects some 57,000 registered voters, of whom 55 percent are Malays, 27 percent are Chinese and 18 are percent Indians.
PKR is also looking to wrap up seat negotiations with opposition allies PAS and DAP by the end of the week in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.
Vice-president and national election director Azmin Ali confirmed that basic agreement has been reached.
"We’ve agreed with PAS and DAP that we will (only) announce the candidates after the negotiations, which we hope to conclude by end of this week," he added.
"There still very minor issues to settle in other states. We will make an announcement soon."
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