Is Anwar planning to move to a new seat next general election?

Murray Hunter


Is Anwar planning to move to a new seat next general election?

Permatang Puah may look better than his present seat of Tambun

Dec 09, 2024




Facebook: Anwar Ibrahim


In the 2022 general election, Anwar Ibrahim moved from his seat Port Dickson, which he won in a by-election in 2018 to the Perceived safer seat of Tambun in Perak. Anwar won Port Dickon in a landslide back in October 2018, a seat which stayed with Pakatan Harapan in 2022 general election.

In the 2022 general election Anwar won Tambun with a 3,736 vote majority over the Perikatan Nasional candidate Ahmad Faizal Azumu. In the next general election, not due until 2027, Anwar should be expected to win Tambun, especially with UMNO’s help, where the candidate in 2022 garnered 28,140 votes. UMNO not running a candidate in Tambun this time around should instinctively provide Anwar with a super-majority.

However, Anwar’s visit to his old seat Permatang Puah on the weekend sparked some speculation that Anwar might be interested in running in his old seat next election. Anwar held Permatang Puah from 1982 until 1999, when it became vacant after his sodomy and corruption conviction. While Anwar was in prison, his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail won the seat on his behalf, holding it from 1999 till Anwar’s return in 2008. Anwar held the seat again until 2015, when he was imprisoned once again, where Wan Azizah won the seat again. Wan Azizah held the seat until 2018, handing it to her daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar in 2018. However, in the 2022 general election Nurul lost the seat to Muhammad Fawwaz Mohamad Jan of PAS.

Many expected that Nurul would rerun for the seat. However, local intel indicates it may be difficult for her to rewin the seat because of locals’ poor perception of her performance as a local member between 2018-2022. There might be too much ‘baggage’ in the seat for her to successfully pull off a win, and she would be better off in another seat. Odds are Nurul may contest in her mother’s seat of Bandar Tum Razak, who would be in her late 70s at general election time. Another option that Anwar may be considering is standing down in Tambun for Nurul to stand, which she could likely win.

Nurul Izzah looking for a seat?

Local stories go that the seat has some nostalgic value to Anwar and he might take the challenge to try and win it back. Others say, such nostalgia is not in his DNA, and there might be other reasons he might rerun in Permatang Puah.

Conspiracy thinkers believe that due to some sort of talks with PAS, if they eventuate into anything solid, might allow Anwar to take the seat without PAS standing a candidate.

Its almost certain Anwar’s administration will run his full term. The YDPA Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar doesn’t want a change of government, and there is no advantage to any party making any changes at this point of time.

There is little point in disturbing the political balance until the next general election. There is still the Melaka (due Feb 207), and Johor (due April 2027) state elections on the peninsula and the Sabah (due by October 2025), and Sarawak (due Feb 2027) state elections to be conducted in Borneo.

If the electoral situation in early 2027 appears to be positive for PKR and UMNO, then there will be little pressure to change any alliances. However, the most unpredictable factor is UMNO at this stage. If UMNO cannot hold its support in the coming state elections, then other options may be seriously considered.

DAP will be important to PKR as it should hold up electoral support and allow Pakatan Harapan to remain the senior partner in any new government vis UMNO. If UMNO collapses, Anwar will be forced to consider other options.

What we can say is Anwar is a pragmatist and looking at options. He doesn’t work on nostalgia and sentiment.

Was Anwar’s trip to Permatang Puah about strategic options or was it more about family?