Malaysia PM Anwar’s daughter Nurul Izzah becomes ruling PKR’s No 2 after poll win
Nepotism claims and internal rifts clouded the contest as Nurul Izzah and her rival Rafizi Ramli vied for the party’s deputy president post
Nurul Izzah, the daughter of Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, was declared the new deputy president of the ruling People’s Justice Party (PKR) on Friday night, with the election outcome for the No 2 post potentially a launchpad for the country’s top political office.
Nurul Izzah won the race with 9,803 votes to replace incumbent Rafizi Ramli, who is also the economy minister. PKR did not announce the count for Rafizi.
The run-up to the election has been clouded by claims of nepotism in forwarding Nurul Izzah, 44, for a deputy role widely seen as a launch pad for party leadership and then a potential tilt at the prime minister’s office.
Over 30,000 delegates voted on Friday at this year’s congress in the southern Johor state, to pick between Nurul Izzah and Rafizi.
“If I suddenly win, my heart may go weak. Because I know the way things have been arranged, the signs are clear that I will lose,” Rafizi said in his last campaign stop in Johor on Tuesday.