Malaysia’s PM Anwar retains PKR presidency; daughter vies for No. 2 post in party polls
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Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim’s (centre) daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar will battle incumbent deputy president Rafizi Ramli for PKR's No. 2 post.
PHOTO: ANWAR IBRAHIM/LINKEDIN
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JOHOR BAHRU – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim retained the presidency of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) unchallenged, as expected, after nominations for the closely watched leadership race closed on May 9, and the spotlight is now trained on the battle for deputy president involving his daughter.
Datuk Seri Anwar, 77, will serve his third and final term till 2028, which coincides with the next Malaysian general election. He was first elected PKR president in 2018.
The party anchors Malaysia’s multi-coalition government that has been in power for 2½ years, with seven Cabinet ministers among its ranks aside from PM Anwar, who is also Finance Minister.
PKR’s No. 2 post will pit former allies
Ms Nurul Izzah, a PKR vice-president, until recently co-chaired a secretariat that advises Mr Anwar as Finance Minister after losing her parliamentary seat in the November 2022 general election. She is Mr Anwar’s eldest daughter.
She defended her move to contest the position, saying it was unfair to label it as a sign of nepotism and dynasty politics in the 27-year-old party.
“Even if I were to clinch the position of deputy president, I am not interested in any Cabinet post,” Ms Nurul Izzah wrote on Facebook on May 9. “I believe that those who read this statement with rationality can distinguish between nepotism – being appointed to a position by a family member – and a position attained through a contest voted on by the grassroots,” she added.
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, 61, who lost the PKR deputy presidency race in 2022 to Datuk Seri Rafizi, had been mooted to run again in 2025. But the former PKR secretary-general did not throw his hat in the ring for any position in the central leadership.
Datuk Seri Saifuddin, a top aide told the local media on May 9, will instead work on strengthening the party for the next general election, when Mr Anwar is expected to run for a second term as prime minister.
Mr Rafizi on May 7 has said he welcomed any challengers
The two-day nominations for the party polls, held every three years, closed at midnight on May 9.
The party’s central election committee chairman, Dr Zaliha Mustafa, said on May 10 that 251 members are contesting for the 2025-2028 term, with 104 running for positions in the central leadership committee, 85 for youth wing positions and 62 for roles in the women’s committee.
“This encouraging participation proves that Keadilan is not short on emerging talent. It also reinforces the party’s position as a platform that continuously empowers new leaders and strengthens internal democracy,” she said in a statement.
Twelve candidates are running in the closely watched race for the four vice-president spots. They include the incumbents – Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad; Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang; Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Aminuddin Harun; and Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari.
The current women’s wing chief, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, is running for re-election against Selangor MP Rodziah Ismail.
Mr Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim, PM Anwar’s political secretary, was the sole nominee for the post of youth chief.
Voting for the party’s central leaders, along with the women and youth councils, will be on May 23.
Some 10,000 delegates from the PKR national congress, women’s congress and youth congress – held in Johor Bahru from May 22 to 24, as well as at two locations in Sabah and Sarawak – are expected to vote in person. Another 20,000 will vote online using the party’s internal app.
Harith Mustaffa is a journalist covering Malaysia for The Straits Times, with a focus on Johor.
