Nurul Izzah’s ‘dictator’ comment — what it means for Pakatan Harapan, her father and her political career

SINGAPORE — As the political maelstrom continued over his daughter’s public criticism of the man whom he is expected to succeed as Malaysia’s prime minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday (March 26) sought to defend her — and at the same time, reiterated his support for Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“Our position, including those of myself and my family, is to give the support and the space to Dr Mahathir as our leader and the prime minister,” he told reporters at Malaysia’s Parliament.

He added: “That does not mean we cannot have differences in opinions or to give advice… Some people think that we are like the previous Umno (United Malays National Organisation) government. That is not true.”

His daughter’s comments were not wholly aimed at Dr Mahathir, but were directed at other leaders as well, Mr Anwar said.

In an interview published by Singapore daily The Straits Times on Sunday, Ms Nurul Izzah Anwar called Dr Mahathir a “former dictator” who had caused much damage to her family and the nation.

Ms Nurul Izzah, a Member of Parliament for Permatang Pauh, abruptly resigned in December last year as vice-president of the People's Justice Party (PKR).

In the interview, she also lamented the slow pace of reforms, and said that she was “broken-hearted” in having to work with Dr Mahathir, who leads Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM). PPBM and PKR are part of the country’s ruling coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH).

Several Malaysian politicians have since hit back at Ms Nurul Izzah — including those from PPBM and PKR — while Dr Mahathir responded by saying that he, too, is disappointed in others, just as how they feel about him over the slow implementation of reforms by the new government.

On Tuesday, Ms Nurul Izzah stood by her comments at a press conference, stating that it was factually accurate to call Dr Mahathir a “former dictator”.

Mr Tariq Ismail, who sits on PPBM’s Supreme Council, told TODAY that the term was “rather insulting”.

“Of course, the current government welcomes dissenting voices but (to refer to the prime minister that way) was uncalled for,” he said, adding that decisions made by the PH government are not decided by Dr Mahathir alone but through a consensus with other Cabinet Ministers.

PKR's deputy vice-president Mohamed Azmin Ali — who is also Economic Affairs Minister — tweeted in response to Ms Nurul Izzah’s comments that the nation needs “doers”, not “crybabies”.

Mr Anwar, who is PKR’s president, took a swipe at his deputy: “There are people who want to protect principles and ideals, and there are people who just (want) to defend their position at all costs.”

Read also

• Nurul Izzah 'shouldn’t have criticised Dr M in interview'

ANWAR’S AWKWARD POSITION

His daughter’s comments have put Mr Anwar in an awkward position.

Dr Mahathir came into power in May last year, but Mr Anwar is expected to succeed him within two years — a timeframe to which both men had publicly referred.

Since then, however, there has been talk on whether Dr Mahathir — who sacked Mr Anwar as deputy prime minister in 1998 and threw him into jail for sodomy — would keep his word.

Analysts pointed out that Ms Izzah’s comments could further fuel the distrust that Dr Mahathir has been said to have of Mr Anwar.

They noted the need for Mr Anwar to distance himself from his daughter’s remarks in order not to jeopardise the succession plan.

Mr Adib Zalkapli, a director of political consultancy firm Bower Group Asia, said: “Anwar can’t be associated with the divisive comments made his daughter.” 

Noting that Mr Anwar needs to “demonstrate leadership and further unite the coalition”, he said: “If he is seen as a divisive figure within the coalition, he will be isolated by the component parties. He can’t be isolated as he needs the support of all parties to take over as prime minister.”

However, political analyst Awang Azman Awang Pawi from University Malaya argued that Ms Nurul Izzah’s comments could galvanise Mr Anwar’s supporters and quicken his ascendancy to the top post, so that he can carry out the reforms faster.

RIFTS IN PAKATAN HARAPAN EXPOSED?

Another point that the analysts made was that Ms Nurul Izzah’s comments could potentially widen the rifts within the parties in the PH coalition, which has been besieged by internal strife in recent months.

For one, Dr Mahathir’s move to co-opt former Umno lawmakers had sparked outrage among members of the other component parties, as it was viewed as an attempt to strengthen the parliamentary representation of PPBM as well as to build "an Umno 2.0" which could set back the pace of reforms.

In protest, Ms Izzah quit her posts in PKR and the federal government.

Aside from these, there is the simmering rivalry between Mr Azmin — seen as Dr Mahathir’s ally — and Mr Rafizi Ramli, an Anwar loyalist.

Mr Azmin and Mr Rafizi had gone head-to-head for PKR’s deputy president post at its internal election in November last year.

Mr Adib believes that Ms Nurul Izzah’s criticism showed that there is lingering resentment within the coalition against Dr Mahathir, who ruled Malaysia with an iron grip during his first tenure as premier from 1981 to 2003.

“We can expect to hear more criticisms against Dr Mahathir. The implication is that this will distract the coalition from the business of governing,” Mr Adib said.

Professor Awang Azman said that given Ms Nurul Izzah’s position as an influential figure of the reformist agenda, supporters could apply more pressure on both Mr Anwar and his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail — who is Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister — to make a definitive stand “on the need for change and make sure the PH Government does not to relapse to old ways”.

Read also

• Dr Mahathir is no dictator, says PAS president

WHAT’S NEXT FOR NURUL IZZAH

Ms Nurul Izzah’s public criticisms of Dr Mahathir and the PH government, as well as her declaration that she is serving her final term as a lawmaker, has fuelled talk that she could leave politics for good.

“I predict that (she) would not want to be active as long as Dr Mahathir is in power and is deemed to be abandoning the desired reforms,” Prof Awang Azman said.

“She is known as the ‘princess of reform’ and she certainly would not want her title to be tainted (by the current PH government).”

Political science professor Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid from Universiti Sains Malaysia said that even if she chooses to stay away from politics for a while, she may return should her father become the next prime minister. 

“My bet is she will continue to be in politics because her voice, even as a backbencher, carries much significance,” he said. “Furthermore, she has too much politics in her blood.”

He also noted that Ms Nurul Izzah has a different mindset compared with her older colleagues, whereby “principles must be prioritised rather than taking the road of politicking”.

Mr Rais Hussin, who is a member of PPBM’s Supreme Council and heads its policy and strategy bureau, wrote in online news site Malaysiakini that Ms Nurul Izzah has “experienced all the trials and tribulations that no average person would have gone through”.

This included witnessing “heavily armed policemen barging into her home, while she was in her mere teens, to arrest her father Anwar Ibrahim… and confronting the horror of seeing her dad being subjected to two scurrilous trials on spurious charges”, Mr Rais said.

“For now, one should give Nurul space to recover from fatigue, after close to a generation of unrelenting assault against the Leviathan that is the State,” he added.