The Anwar factor in Permatang Pauh by-election

PKR may field Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as the ‘torchbearer candidate’ and the sympathy votes will certainly invite accusations of nepotism from Umno.

DATUK Seri Anwar Ibrahim is expected to be the main topic of campaigning in Permatang Pauh as the PKR prepares to fight and keep the seat that has been in Anwar’s family since 1982.

Former MP Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had a hectic weekend, meeting PKR division leaders and branches in the constituency and reconnecting with the PKR election machinery.

Wherever she went, she talked about Anwar and how he has been unjustly thrown into prison. (Anwar was found guilty of sodomy and sentenced to five years in jail.)

For good or for worse, Anwar is shaping up as the main topic of the by-election although he is in prison.

Dr Azizah has started early knowing that this time around, victory would be tough but she is hopeful that as a “torchbearer candidate” for Pakatan Rakyat, she can win but with a reduced majority.

Anwar first won the seat in 1982, immediately after he joined Umno from Abim, and went on to keep the seat in subsequent general elections as he rose rapidly up the Umno ladder. He faced candidates fielded by PAS and easily defeated them, including PAS information chief Datuk Mahfuz Omar and its deputy president Mohamed Sabu.

The DAP, too, tried to unseat him once in the 1995 general election, fielding a Malay candidate against Anwar but lost badly.

After Anwar was sacked and jailed, the seat went to Dr Wan Azizah in the 1999 general election but she almost lost it in 2004, winning by a slim majority of 530 votes.

In the 2008 election, she came back strongly on the back of non-Muslim voter support and subsequently, resigned to make way for Anwar to contest after his release.

Since then, the seat has been in the family – alternating between husband and wife, giving rise to charges from Umno that PKR practices nepotism, especially after their daughter Nurul Izzah has become Lembah Pantai MP.

“We are definitely fielding Kak Wan (Dr Wan Azizah) because she is the best and most experienced candidate we have,” said a senior PKR leader and MP, requesting anonymity because the matter has not been officially announced.

“Umno is sure to bring up the nepotism charge but we reject it totally,” he added.

“(Dr) Wan Azizah has the experience and leadership qualities. Our only worry is how the ulama faction (in PAS) would react to her candidacy,” he said, adding that previously, they had rejected her for the post of Selangor Mentri Besar. The DAP, however, is going all out to back Dr Wan Azizah, not only as candidate for Permatang Pauh but also as Opposition Leader in Parliament.

Going by all the posturing, Dr Wan Azizah is ready to enter the political fray after taking a backseat in recent years. But her path to MP and Opposition leader might not be as easy as before. For once, PAS is in a rebellious mood. The ulama faction, that controls PAS, is angry with DAP for cutting ties with PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

DAP is also unhappy that Abdul Hadi will be tabling a Private Members’ Bill on hudud law in Parliament. But the Anwarians like Mohamed Sabu are all for Anwar’s wife and are expected to campaign hard to ensure a victory for Dr Wan Azizah.

“The participation of ulama grassroots in the campaign would be, at best, lukewarm,” said a PAS leader. “The words that the DAP leaders had used against Abdul Hadi were hurtful and totally illogical.”

A lot will now depend on Dr Wan Azizah and how she manages the balancing act between PAS and DAP.

Umno is expected to put up a fierce campaign against her, raising the issue of nepotism and attacking PKR’s strategy to get sympathy votes. They will try to influence voters to elect a candidate who is young, dynamic and can bring development to the constituency.

An early indication of the issue is in how she responded to the voters during her walkabout over the weekend.

She said she was bombarded with questions about Anwar and how he was doing and not about complaints in the constituency.

“I felt so warm and touched,” she is quoted by a news website. She is trying to set the tone and agenda of the by-election.

One immediate problem is how she explains that she is state assemblyman for Kajang, about 500km to the south, and Permatang Pauh MP, in the opposite direction.

She is an early starter, knowing that she has a fierce battle on her hands.