Nurul Izzah apologises for writing off Pakatan’s chances ahead of GE15, says not giving up on PKR
KUALA LUMPUR: Former PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar yesterday apologised for saying Pakatan Harapan (PH) will need at least two general elections before it can retake the federal government.
In an interview with Malay daily Berita Harian, the Permatang Pauh MP explained that she was only narrating the “worst case scenario” for her party PKR and the Opposition coalition in the upcoming 15th General Election.
“I apologise for hurting
anyone’s feelings, but as someone who has seen many changes in the political landscape over the past few years, I think we have to always be careful and prepare for all possible scenarios.
“It’s a given that we have a bright chance ahead if the fencesitter decided to vote but what if they don’t?” Nurul was quoted saying.
She said the recent defeat PKR suffered in the Johor state election, in which it won only one out of 20 contested seats, was what made her cautious about the Opposition’s chance of success.
Nurul, however, said that she has not given up on the party yet despite her harsh comments.
In an interview with Sinar Harian on April 14, Nurul had said that it would take 10 years or two election cycles for the Opposition to regain control of the federal government because the coalition’s failure during the 22-month governance was still fresh in the people’s mind.
She said: “I’m being very realistic because, to me, it will take time for our ‘product differentiation’ to succeed. Because the people and, even myself, are still traumatised over what happened when PH was in government for 22 months."