Nurul Izzah says fight for Anwar still relevant

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 – Nurul Izzah Anwar said today that PKR’s struggle to secure justice for her father Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim remained relevant as it was “symbolic” of the country’s corrupt judiciary.

However, the Lembah Pantai MP also defended Datuk Zaid Ibrahim’s latest outburst against the party, saying that the PKR leader was just stressing the need to be “proactive” on all aspects of party affairs.

“The current unjust persecution of our de factor leader remain an issue as it symbolizes the state of (our) corrupt judicial affairs.

“(However) I believe Datuk Zaid is just affirming the need to be proactive on all front(s),” Nurul Izzah (picture) told The Malaysian Insider.

Zaid had said yesterday that securing justice for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should not be PKR’s sole struggle as it was “unworthy” to become a “one-issue party”.

In what appears to be a part of his campaign strategy for the PKR deputy presidency race, Zaid claimed that the party needed first to fix itself before thinking about fixing the nation.

“Our coalition partners deserve better from us. While we need to secure justice for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, there are so many more injustices facing the people of this nation that require our attention,” he charged.

In response to Zaid’s remarks, Nurul Izzah defended today the 12 year-old opposition party, saying that it had made “great strides” since its formation in 1998 in proving that it was not a “single-issue” party.

She said that PKR’s current efforts in introducing the country’s first ever direct elections indicated the party was moving to introduce more reforms for the country.

“I believe the fact that Keadilan is implementing direct elections proves that our struggle takes on many fronts. We are moving to further democratise the party in line with our efforts to democratise Malaysia,” said Nurul Izzah via a text message to The Malaysian Insider.

In a blog posting yesterday, Zaid stressed that PKR needed to pay attention to those they sought to represent, reminding members that the people were clamouring for economic and social justice and the right to be treated with respect and dignity.

Zaid had also previously warned that PKR would turn into a second Umno if its present pool of leaders were not changed.

He also rejected outright Anwar’s warning to bypass Umno-owned media like Utusan Malaysia and insisted that the paper’s relentless attacks against the PKR de facto leader could have stemmed from the boycott.

He has also made explicit insinuations that supporters of Azmin Ali, his leading rival in the three-way deputy presidency race, were responsible for the hurdles he was facing in his tilt for the number two post.