Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Nurul Izzah - Compassionate as Jacinda Ardern, Ballsy as Margaret Thatcher


Star Online - Firestorm over ‘dictator’ remark:



Eye of the storm: Nurul Izzah quit the PAC as she believes its chairman Kiandee (right) should be replaced with another opposition MP

There had been such intense speculation that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibra­him would be making “a move” in the current meeting of Parliament.

But nothing like that has happened.

Instead, it was his daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar who has inadvertently whipped up a storm of opinions over her comments about the government and the Prime Minister.

The Permatang Pauh MP has always been extremely careful and calculative in commenting on issues. But she seems to be loosening up as she prepares to make her exit from politics and gave one of her more open interviews to Sumiko Tan of The Straits Times in Singa­pore, who does have a talent for drawing people out of their shell.



Sumiko Tan
(Sing) The Straits Times

But what got under the skin of some Pakatan Harapan leaders was her reference to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the “former dictator who had wreaked so much damage, not just to our lives but the system”.


Politicians tend to see shadowy threats everywhere and her words were perceived as the second arrow aimed at Dr Mahathir in a week.


Nurul Izzah had earlier quit the Public Accounts Com­mittee (PAC) of Parliament in protest against the Prime Minister’s reluctance to replace PAC chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee with another opposition MP.


The government’s stand not only goes against Pakatan’s manifesto to put Parliament on a more accountable footing, it clearly undermined Anwar’s plan for parliamentary reform.




what manifesto promises? 

It also underscored the internecine tussle within Pakatan’s partners that has been bubbling beneath the surface over various government policies and affairs.

Nurul Izzah saw it as political expediency taking priority over the party’s reform agenda.


what 'promises'? I thought it was ..... 

In layman language, yet another promise had been broken.


call Pakatan Harapan head officeask for its Chairman 

Bersatu Prbumi leaders have taken exception to the “dictator” label and came out swinging for their elderly chairman.

But it was PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali’s tweet which took matters to another level.


hmmm, he's my 'uncle'

more importantly I may well be his "new" heir
 

In his tweet, Azmin basically implied that Nurul Izzah was a crybaby who is unable to weather the tough times.

“If you cannot take the heat, get out of the kitchen,” he said on Twitter.

Azmin and the Anwar family have not been on the same page for a long time, but the last few months or so has seen Azmin openly rooting for Dr Mahathir.

It is no secret that he has hitched his wagon to Dr Mahathir, whom he used to call “uncle”.



As such, his reprimand of Nurul Izzah was naturally seen as coming to the defence of “uncle”.

It did not go down well with his Twitter followers and drew a flurry of criticism.

Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad returned fire on Twitter: “When a lady makes a stand, call her crybaby? Cheap, very cheap.”


yes, we know Nurul's the only one with balls

but really Azmin that's a low blow cheap shot
 

The perception out there is that Malaysian politics is about to lose a star politician and it was not on to attack her for speaking her mind.

Dr Mahathir has always had a touchy relationship with Singapore – they are like oil and water – and it was obvious that Nurul Izzah’s remarks cut a little deeper than usual because it was made to a Singapore publication.

Well, the word is that she is likely to be more outspoken after this.

“I see her continuing to speak her mind. She has strong ideals, she doesn’t need to toe the line and she can say it like it is,” said Perak PKR chief Farhash Wafa Salvador.

Some in PKR like to refer to the Anwar family as the Kennedys of Malaysia.


Mahathir, free our father 

Detractors prefer the label Istana Segambut, which implies the special powers they have over others.

For ever so long, Nurul Izzah was deemed the one to carry on the legacy after Anwar and party members had trouble accepting her decision to walk away.

She stunned everyone when she decided to quit her vice-president post just weeks after winning it for a third term, citing reasons of principle over what was happening in national politics.


Until today, party members are still disappointed over the action of the woman whom some see as a future prime minister.

They say if it was really about political principles, she should have taken a stand instead of keeping mum throughout the controversial PKR election when everything that should not happen in an election happened.

The opinion is that she knows her political future is limited because her father was said to have put his foot down on her getting a government post while Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is the Deputy Prime Minister.

With her father on course to be the next prime minister, her prospects of moving up is down to zero.

But kudos to Anwar for taking such a stand.


“We had high hopes for her. But she decided on her own future and we have to respect her decision,” said Selangor PKR Youth chief Najwan Halimi.

Nurul Izzah has lived her entire adult life in the political spotlight, yet the mother of two and her family have managed to keep so much about themselves private.

For instance, nobody can quite confirm her current marital status and there was quite a bit of chatter among reporters during the PKR congress last year when they saw a sparkling ring on her left ring finger. However, Wikipedia states that she is twice divorced, having remarried in 2015 and divorcing in 2016.*

* I checked but there's no such thing on her Wikipedia page. Maybe a reader can provide better information - see also Star Online's No royal marriage on the cards for Nurul Izzah

Despite her rollercoaster political life, she does not look her age, her complexion glows even without make-up and she turns heads wherever she goes.


She is also photogenic, with a voice that is made for public speaking and, well, politics.

Will it be the end of the road for Nurul Izzah?

“With her charisma, a comeback is always possible,” said Farhash.


8 comments:

  1. i dun quite agree with nurul approach.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am with Hadi.

      https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/03/26/hadi-defends-dr-m-over-dictator-remark/1736563

      Delete
  2. I don’t think Margaret Thatcher would have quit. She would have grabbed Toonsie one hand by his collar and the other by his marbles and mouthed some Conservative expletives and ending with one of her famous quotes:

    “This lady is not for turning”.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Poor Toonsie knows only one way to govern, ie as Pharoh with 2/3rds parliamentary majority and control of all state assemblies. Under the New Malaysia he is totally lost at sea, even mere MPs from his own coalition can question and push him around. And his own party Bersatu ministers are all low calibre, with fake degrees. If ever there was a PM that was ready to be toppled it is him.

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  4. Mamak 2.0 is a technocrat believer.

    The unfortunate thing IS there r just too many lalang amongst these 'technocratsz he was been advised to engage!

    Blame him, again, for his ketuanan parlays of his past 22yrs, resulting in this trees of weakling.

    The will to change is strong BUT the root of support is all rotten, as been chewed away by the inhabited tongkat induced maggots.

    The ONLY possible way out IS a Draconian chop of fully utilizing the RIGHT people with the right attitude & capability, sans their racial identity.

    Let those ketuanan freaks be damned!

    Only then there is a slim hope of bolihland revitalization.

    ReplyDelete
  5. u always mixed up words n its meaning, u have problem to differentiate socialism vs capitalism, n technocrat vs dictator wakaka.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jacinda Arden has done a fantastic job as NZ PM. Now her country must show the world how welcoming they are to immigrants of all backgrounds. Like France, Germany, Belgium etc that welcomed millions of immigrants from Turkey, Syria, North Africa etc. In some European countries 10% of their population is already Muslim. NZ must do the same.

    QUOTE
    The world now wants to move to New Zealand
    By Martin van Beynen
    March 27, 2019

    Worldwide interest in moving to New Zealand has spiked in the aftermath of Christchurch’s deadly terror attacks.

    Immigration New Zealand (INZ) figures show a significant lift in the volume of registrations from people interested in living and working in New Zealand since the March 15 shootings, when 50 Muslim worshippers were killed at the Masjid Al Noor and Linwood Masjid by a lone gunman.

    New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is a big factor behind a surge in interest in living in the country.

    INZ assistant general manager Peter Elms said his agency had received 6457 registrations of interest from March 15 to 24, compared to 4844 for the preceding 10 days – a 33 per cent increase.

    The largest numerical increase had come from the United States – 1165 compared to 674, a 72 per cent increase.

    Britain and South Africa had the second and third highest number of registrations, compared to the 10 days before the attacks. Britain jumped from 505 to 753 – a 49 per cent increase.

    Predominantly Muslim countries, notably Pakistan (333 registrations since the attacks), had shown a surge in interest despite their faith being the terror target.

    New Zealand Muslims have received an outpouring of goodwill in the form of vigils, flowers, messages and donations.

    Other Muslim majority countries showing increased interest include Malaysia (165 registrations), Bangladesh (82), Morocco (66), Indonesia (63), Egypt (59) and Turkey (59).
    UNQUOTE

    ReplyDelete