Nuha committed to free Anwar
KUALA LUMPUR: Nurul Nuha Anwar is seeking justice for her father who is back in jail after the Federal Court upheld his conviction and five-year jail sentence for sodomy.
The 31-year-old mother of two, who is leading a campaign to pressure the government to free Anwar, said in a report carried by The Malaysian Insider that she was confused and heartbroken when her father was first jailed more than 16 years ago.
“Back in 1999, I was only 15 and very confused, wondering why this was happening to my family. My sisters were really young at that time,” Nuha told the news portal in an interview.
Anwar was convicted for corruption at that time, following his sacking from his position as deputy prime minister the previous year.
The same despair and confusion came over Nuha when the verdict in Anwar’s sodomy case was read out 12 days ago at the apex court.
“It was like 1999 all over again because we did not expect this. It is, after all, the Federal Court. The law is very clear about proving something beyond reasonable doubt.
“I think papa was more prepared for this. For me, I did not want to think of any negative things because of our past experience,” she said in the report.
Nuha, the second of six siblings, shares her family’s disappointment with the judiciary and is now the face of the “March to Freedom” campaign, a new initiative launched lastweektopressurethegovernment to free Anwar from prison.
“I am very committed and focused on the struggle. My main focus now is to free my father, who is a political prisoner, from this unjust incarceration.
“This struggle has been very much a family thing and as a Malaysian, it is about fighting for what is right, for the freedom of human rights,” she said.
Despite it being a long shot, Nuha said the family as well as lawyers and the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat intended to exhaust all avenues in order to free Anwar through the movement.
“The aim of ‘March to Freedom’ is to free papa. But it is also to free the judiciary system and other institutions under the current regime, that has been unfair,” she added.
“We have all grown up, we are all aware. People want change. We can see it in their eyes, their sweat.”
Nuha, whose older sister is Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, has also been tipped to run for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat to replace her father.
“As for Permatang Pauh, nothing has been discussed. So the issue of my aspirations in politics does not arise as it is still a bit premature.
“Right now, my focus is on ‘March to Freedom’. This is everything to me. Our father has been taken away from us yet again and this is something that we very much want to strive for,” said Nuha who was still struggling to balance her work in the movement to free her father with her time with her two sons, aged three and one.
“I am a full-time mother but I freelance as a graphic artist at night after my children go to bed. My husband (a pilot) travels a lot on work.
“And I make sure that my undivided attention is for the kids, without the phone or other gadgets because what I learnt from when my father was first jailed in 1999, was that you can never get the time back.
“I am still learning, though ... how to balance my work in ‘March to Freedom’ and being a mother,” Nuha said, adding that her husband of four years has been very supportive of her decision.
Nuha gave her maiden speech in Penang to some 500 people on Tuesday and received a standing ovation when she arrived at the Han Chiang school hall, where a tribute was held for her father.
“I felt so touched. But I don’t think the standing ovation was for me. It was for my father. You can see that people were there to support the family. They were pouring out their love and support for him,” said the graduate in arts and visual technology from George Mason University, adding that she had inherited her father’s perseverance and principles.