Sabah, Labuan leaders urge Nurul Izzah to reconsider
KOTA KINABALU: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Kota Belud has urged Nurul Izzah Anwar to reconsider her resignation as the party’s national vice president and Penang chief.
The division’s chief, Mustapha Sakmud, expressed his hope that Nurul Izzah would not resign as the latter is one of the nation’s future leaders with the highest potential and she deserves support for her efforts in the Reformasi movement.
Mustapha pointed out that Nurul Izzah had the highest number of votes (for the post of vice president) during the recent party election and thus, it has proven the fact that the party members have high hopes for the Permatang Pauh member of parliament.
“In the recent party election, we (the PKR Kota Belud members) had worked very hard to ensure her (Nurul Izzah) victory in Kota Belud division so that the Reformasi agenda, which she had been carrying out for 20 years would remain relevant,” said Mustapha, who had described Nurul Izzah’s decision as ‘shocking’.
He reckoned that the decision must be promptly re-evaluated by the party’s top leaders and Nurul Izzah herself.
Mustapha also said that he disagreed with the recent criticism thrown by PKR central committee member Latheefa Koya towards Nurul Izzah’s father, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who is also the party president.
Latheefa alleged that there was ‘cronyism and nepotism’ in the recent appointment of state leaders in the party and the appointment of Nurul Izzah as the Penang chief was inappropriate and open to the charge of nepotism.
“She (Latheefa) must be fair in evaluating Nurul Izzah’s leadership, based on history and merits. Nurul Izzah’s contribution to the Reformasi movement and the change in the country exceeds family interests.
“Malaysians are indebted to Nurul Izzah’s sacrifices as she had lost her time as a youth while fighting for the right of the people. Other leaders only know how to criticize based on their emotions,” he stressed.
Mustapha opined that Nurul Izzah would give the younger generation a sense of confidence and to convince them that the Reformasi agenda is a main priority for the country and not merely for personal political gain.
He expressed his hope that Anwar would not simply bow down to anyone in the party and to take discipline actions against party members who go against the will of the majority.
Labuan PKR also urged Nurul Izzah to re-consider her decision to quit as the party’s vice-president and Penang PKR chief.
Describing her decision as shocking, it said her decision to quit both posts was a loss to the party which really needed her.
“We admire her as a young leader who always upheld the agenda for reformation and justice in every stage of her struggle,” said Labuan PKR chief Simsudin Sidek in a statement to Bernama yesterday.
He said the majority of Labuan PKR members fully supported Nurul Izzah in the recent party elections, proving that her leadership was needed by the members in Labuan.
Simsudin said Nurul Izzah’s appointment as Penang PKR chief was in line with current politics and had the undivided support of all the branches in the state.
“She went through every stage of the country’s political struggles from the time of reformation until Pakatan Harapan formed the government after the 14th general election,” he said.
“To us, the issue of nepotism concerning her appointment to the post does not arise,” he said.
He added that although Labuan PKR had to respect her decision, it said the party still needed her as she had the experience and charisma of a young leader and could contribute to the struggles of PKR and Pakatan Harapan.
“We urge Nurul Izzah to re-consider her decision and withdraw her resignation, for the sake of the party, people and nation,” he said.