‘Nurul Izzah not keen on post’

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said his daughter, Nurul Izzah, did not want a cabinet position even though she holds one of the top positions in Pakatan Harapan.

He said this during Al Jazeera’s 101 East programme yesterday when asked whether his family was building a political dynasty if Nurul Izzah was appointed to the cabinet along with his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Anwar said Nurul Izzah’s decision was hers alone, adding that the PKR leadership had been duly informed of this.

“(Dr) Wan Azizah is the party president. My daughter has told the party that she did not plan on joining the cabinet even though she is the second-highest party leader after the deputy president, who is now the menteri besar of Selangor.

“She is in a senior position in the party, but she does not want (a cabinet post). And, when I take over as prime minister (as per the agreement with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad), Azizah will step down (as deputy prime minister). That is also part of the agreement, which is well known.”

Asked if he trusted Dr Mahathir, who had put him behind bars and said he was not morally suitable for leadership, Anwar said that was a 20-year-old story that was now history.

He said Dr Mahathir was now interested in saving the country and bringing change.

On whether the change in government was due to PH winning the election or Barisan Nasional falling, Anwar said it was a combination of both.

On whether the first five names of the cabinet — Dr Mahathir, Dr Wan Azizah, Mohamad Sabu (defence), Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (home) and Lim Guan Eng (finance) – had been the right start in giving birth to a new Malaysian politics, Anwar said 60 per cent of the population was Malay.

“Yet, the finance minister is Chinese. But what is more important is they are all Malaysians. The finance minister is Chinese, but he is Malaysian. He thinks like a Malaysian. He is there to protect the Malaysian economy and Malaysians, without looking at race.”