Nurul Izzah Anwar
Nurul Izzah binti Anwar (Jawi: نور العزة بنت أنور; born 19 November 1980) is a Malaysian politician who has served as Co-chairperson of the Secretariat of the Special Advisory Body to the Minister of Finance (ACFIN) Anwar Ibrahim since February 2023.[1] She served as Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister on Economics and Finance from January to her resignation in February 2023,[2] the Member of Parliament (MP) for Permatang Pauh from May 2018 to November 2022 and for Lembah Pantai from March 2008 to May 2018. A member of the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and formerly Pakatan Rakyat (PR) opposition coalitions. She has also served as the Vice President of PKR from November 2010 to her resignation in December 2018 and again since July 2022.[3] She also served as Chairperson of the Consideration of Bills Select Committee from December 2018 to July 2019.[4] She is the eldest child and daughter of Prime Minister, Chairman of PH, President of PKR and Tambun MP Anwar and President of PH, Chairwoman of the PKR Advisory Body and Bandar Tun Razak MP Wan Azizah Wan Ismail who are also both the former deputy prime ministers.
Nurul Izzah Anwar | |
|---|---|
| نور العزة أنور | |
 Nurul Izzah in 2021 | |
| Co-chairperson of the Secretariat of the Special Advisory Body to the Minister of Finance | |
| Assumed office 12 February 2023 Serving with Khairil Anuar Ramli | |
| Monarch | Abdullah |
| Prime Minister | Anwar Ibrahim |
| Minister | Anwar Ibrahim |
| Chairman of the Special Advisory Body | Hassan Marican |
| Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister on Economics and Finance | |
| In office 3 January 2023 – 12 February 2023 | |
| Monarch | Abdullah |
| Prime Minister | Anwar Ibrahim |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Vice President of the People's Justice Party | |
| Assumed office 20 July 2022 Serving with Aminuddin Harun & Amirudin Shari & Nik Nazmi & Chang Lih Kang & Awang Husaini Sahari & Saraswathy Kandasami | |
| President | Anwar Ibrahim |
| In office 28 November 2010 – 17 December 2018 Serving with Chua Tian Chang (2010–2018) & Fuziah Salleh (2010–2014) & Mansor Othman (2010–2014) & Shamsul Iskandar Md. Akin (2014–2018) & Rafizi Ramli (2014–2018) & Xavier Jayakumar Arulanandam (2018) & Zuraida Kamaruddin (2018) | |
| President | Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (2010–2018) Anwar Ibrahim (2018) |
| Chairperson of the Consideration of Bills Select Committee | |
| In office 4 December 2018 – 18 July 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Ramkarpal Singh |
| Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Permatang Pauh | |
| In office 9 May 2018 – 19 November 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PH–PKR) |
| Succeeded by | Muhammad Fawwaz Mohamad Jan (PN–PAS) |
| Majority | 15,668 (2018) |
| Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Lembah Pantai | |
| In office 8 March 2008 – 9 May 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Shahrizat Abdul Jalil (BN–UMNO) |
| Succeeded by | Fahmi Fadzil (PH–PKR) |
| Majority | 2,895 (2008) 1,847 (2013) |
| Faction represented in Dewan Rakyat | |
| 2008–2018 | People's Justice Party |
| 2018–2022 | Pakatan Harapan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nurul Izzah binti Anwar 19 November 1980 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Political party | People's Justice Party (PKR) |
| Other political affiliations | Pakatan Rakyat (PR) (2008–2015) Pakatan Harapan (PH) (since 2015) |
| Spouses | Raja Ahmad Shahrir Iskandar Raja Salim
(m. 2003; div. 2015)Yin Shao Loong (m. 2022) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Anwar Ibrahim (father) Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (mother) |
| Residence(s) | Bandar Sungai Long, Selangor |
| Alma mater | University Tenaga Nasional (BE) Johns Hopkins University (MA) |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | www |
| Nickname | Princess of Reformasi (Puteri Reformasi) |
Family background
Nurul Izzah is the daughter of Anwar Ibrahim, former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, current President of PKR and current Prime Minister of Malaysia.[5] Her mother, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, was the outgoing President of the party and former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia and also former Minister of Women, Family and Community Development.
Education
Prior to being an MP, Nurul Izzah was and still is a strong proponent of human and civil rights with a special interest in prisoners of religious prejudice. Prior to entering politics, Nurul Izzah did her bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the Universiti Tenaga Nasional where she graduated from in 2003. She then furthered her studies in the U.S. and earned her master's degree from the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University studying International Relations specializing in Southeast Asia Studies.
Political career
Vice President of the People's Justice Party (2010–2018 & 2022–present)
Nurul Izzah's political career began with the creation of the People's Justice Party (KEADILAN or PKR) in 1999 where she played a vital role in its establishment and, up until December 2018, was on her second term as highest ranking Vice President Elect, as well as the party's Election Director – a post she holds jointly with Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (former Party Secretary-General).
Resignation as Vice President of PKR and from other party positions
On 17 December 2018, Nurul Izzah announced her resignation as the party's vice president as well as chair of its Penang chapter, but retains her post as MP of Permatang Pauh.[6]
Nurul Izzah is the founding member for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Caucus; and Women's Caucus respectively. She also holds the position of Honorary Treasurer on behalf of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Malaysia. She has also moved the Parliamentary Bill in Malaysia's Parliament to Revoke Emergency Declarations in the country, including the eventual abolishment of the Internal Security Act – all of which were adopted by the Prime Minister six months later. Granted, other laws were then re-introduced, in line with Malaysia's semi-autocratic regime.
Nurul Izzah is also a Board of Director for the Centre of Reform, Democracy and Social Initiatives and has founded Akademi Manusiawi, a training centre for future activists and politicians.
Nurul Izzah has worked with a number of agencies and institutes on advocacy work, among them are the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM), Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), Women Leaders International Forum (WLIF) and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES). She has in the past advocated on behalf of Malaysian political prisoners and Malaysian human rights movements at the international level, most noted being an intervention in the main session at the 55th Commission on Human Rights, Geneva.
Nurul Izzah also actively contributes to the Malay publication Sinar – continuously educating the electorate with positive thoughts on reform.[7]
She was replaced as chairperson by Bukit Gelugor MP, Ramkarpal Singh, in July 2019.[8]
Return as Vice President of PKR
On 20 July 2022, 3 days after the PKR party elections officially ended, she returned to the PKR vice presidency after being appointed along with two new officeholders Putatan MP Awang Husaini Sahari and Saraswathy Kandasami after resigning from it nearly 4 years prior on 17 December 2018.
Election
In the 2008 general election, Nurul Izzah contested the seat of Lembah Pantai in Kuala Lumpur. There was speculation that she ran for the seat with the intention of handing it over to her father, who was disqualified from running for office until April 2008, though she quickly rejected such claims.[5] The seat was defended by three-term incumbent Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who was Minister for Women, Family and Community Development in the Barisan Nasional government.[5] Initial reports suggested that Shahrizat would retain the seat, as she had been a popular minister, and in the 2004 election retained her seat with a majority of 15,288.[5][9] However, on polling day, Nurul Izzah won 21,728 votes to Shahrizat's 18,833, and was elected as the new MP for Lembah Pantai.[10] The defeat of the powerful three-term incumbent by a new face was one of the many surprises in the 2008 election, which saw significant losses of parliamentary seats by the ruling party.[11] When her father returned to electoral politics he did so by replacing his wife and Nurul Izzah's mother, Wan Azizah, in a by-election for the Penang-based seat of Permatang Pauh.
In November 2010, Nurul Izzah was elected one of the vice-presidents of Parti Keadilan Rakyat.[12] She was narrowly returned to Parliament in the 2013 election. The governing Barisan Nasional coalition had targeted her by fielding the incumbent Federal Territories Minister Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin as its candidate against her in a high-profile campaign.[13]
In November 2015, Princess Jacel Kiram and Nurul Izzah posted a photo demanding Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to free opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim which was received negatively in the media, prompting Nurul Izzah to apologize.[14]
In May 2018, Nurul Izzah contested for the parliamentary seat of Permatang Pauh in Pulau Pinang and won. She as the MP for Permatang Pauh from 2018 until her defeat in 2022.[15][16]
Personal life
Nurul Izzah married Raja Ahmad Shahrir on 9 May 2003, and has two children together, namely Raja Safiyah and Raja Harith.[17] They were officially divorced by the Syariah High Court in January 2015.[18]
She later remarried Yin Shao Loong, on 5 August 2022[19] and has a stepchild from Yin's previous marriage.[20]
Election results
| Year | Constituency | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | P121 Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur |
Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR) |
21,728 | 52.62% | Shahrizat Abdul Jalil (UMNO) | 18,833 | 45.61% | 41,289 | 2,895 | 72.88% | ||
| Periasamy Nagarathnam (IND) | 489 | 1.18% | ||||||||||
| 2013 | Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR) |
31,008 | 51.39% | Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin (UMNO) | 29,161 | 48.33% | 61,048 | 1,847 | 84.30% | |||
| Rosli Baba (IND) | 167 | 0.28% | ||||||||||
| 2018 | P044 Permatang Pauh, Penang |
Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR) |
35,534 | 50.89% | Zaidi Mohd Said (UMNO) | 19,866 | 28.45% | 69,828 | 15,668 | 86.18% | ||
| Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden (PAS) | 14,428 | 20.66% | ||||||||||
| 2022 | Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR) | 32,366 | 37.01% | Muhammad Fawwaz Mohamad Jan (PAS) | 37,638 | 43.04% | 87,448 | 5,272 | 81.59% | |||
| Mohd Zaidi Mohd Zaid (UMNO) | 16,971 | 19.41% | ||||||||||
| Mohamad Nasir Osman (PUTRA) | 473 | 0.54% | ||||||||||
See also
References
- "Nurul Izzah invited to co-chair secretariat of finance advisory panel". Free Malaysia Today. 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- "Nurul Izzah is PM's senior advsier on economics, finance". Free Malaysia Today. 29 January 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- "Nurul Izzah returns as PKR veep". The Star. 21 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- "Six new select committees announced, Anwar heads reforms caucus". Malaysiakini. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
- Anwar's daughter steps into political wilderness, Ahmad Pathoni, Reuters, 28 February 2008
- "Nurul Izzah quits as PKR vice president - Nation | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
- Safiyah and Harith. The Star. 15 January 2015.
- "Ramkarpal replaces Nurul as head of Consideration of Bills Committee". Malaysiakini. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
- Shahrizat hails challenge, Joceline Tan, The Star, 13 February 2008
- Ki Mae Heussner (10 March 2008). "Shahrizat: Time for BN to do some 'soul-searching'". Malaysiakini. Archived from the original on 14 March 2008. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
- From outcast to future Prime Minister? Archived 12 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Jessinta Tan, Today, 10 March 2008
- PKR polls results officially announced The Star, 28 November 2010
- Ding, Emily (6 May 2013). "Nurul Izzah slays second BN giant to keep Lembah Pantai". The Malaysian Insider. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
- "Malaysian Nurul Izzah apologises for photo with Jacel Kiram". Channel News Asia. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
- "Maklumat Calon dan Kawasan Pilihan Raya P44 PERMATANG PAUH Pulau Pinang". Utusan Online. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
- "Keputusan PRU-14: Nurul Izzah menang di Parlimen Permatang Pauh". Kosmo! Online. Archived from the original on 11 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
- "Nurul Izzah Anwar". Nurul Izzah Anwar Official website. Archived from the original on 14 March 2008. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
- Nazlina, Maizatul. "Nurul and hubby's divorce finalised - Nation | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
- "Nurul Izzah ties the knot again". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
- ""Reformasi princess" Nurul Izzah marries Chinese ex-colleague". Focus Malaysia. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- "13th Malaysian General Election". The Star. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
- "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri". Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 6 June 2010. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
- "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
- "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen 2013". Election Commission of Malaysia (in Malay). Retrieved 6 May 2013.
External links
