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Anwar's daughter to contest March vote
The eldest daughter of Malaysia's opposition leader is making her electoral debut on March 8 - a poll that could make or break her family's political future.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:30 February 29, 2008
- Image Credit: EPA
- Nurul Izzah Anwar
Kuala Lumpur: The eldest daughter of Malaysia's opposition leader is making her electoral debut on March 8 - a poll that could make or break her family's political future.
Nurul Izzah Anwar, a 27-year-old who has just given birth, has joined her mother to fight the government in the March 8 poll.
Anwar Ebrahim, once regarded as a future prime minister, is now hemmed in by his opponents and is battling to stay relevant to voters. His Keadilan political party is officially headed by his wife, who is its only member of parliament.
US-educated Nurul, trying to make her own mark in politics, was quick to deny suggestions that she was contesting as a hedge for her 60-year-old father.
"I'm offering myself for the people of Lembah Pantai," she said, referring to the economically mixed urban constituency in the heart of Kuala Lumpur where she is contesting.
"If they are voting, they are voting for me. I want to win this election for myself and for my party," she said.
Anwar is barred from standing as a candidate until this April because of the conviction for corruption, a charge he said had been contrived to wrongly imprison him for six years until his release in 2004.
He hopes to eventually return to parliament via a by-election. One way is to take over Nurul's seat, if she wins. Her opponent in the race is Women's Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, a favourite to win the seat.
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