Azmin has to share limelight
Analysis
By Joceline Tan
Nurul Izzah Anwar eclipsed many bigger stars in the party on the final day of the PKR congress.
AZMIN ALI’S big moment in PKR politics finally came when he was declared the new deputy president by a landslide victory.
But he had to share the moment with two other people at the PKR national congress yesterday.
One was the top vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar, the new rising star in PKR.
The other was none other than the man he defeated for the No 2 post, Mustaffa Kamil Ayob.
Both of them were among a string of leaders who spoke at the close of the congress.
Nurul Izzah stood out for who she is and the fact that she had won so convincingly.
Mustaffa, on the other hand, showed sportsmanship, which is so rare in today’s politics.
But more important and as far as the delegates were concerned, he showed that he was a loyal party man despite deep grievances about the recently-concluded elections.
Delegates had arrived looking for answers, many were angry and had issues with the way the elections were carried out and the top party leaders had to do a lot of explaining.
But as Rafizi Ramli, a politician in the Youth wing pointed out, it was Mustaffa’s speech that helped bring closure for many delegates.
He was magnanimous, congratulated the winner and assured everyone he was staying put and they gave him a standing ovation.
When Mustaffa finished speaking, a grateful Azmin stood up, took the former’s hand and held it high in the air.
Azmin’s win was convincing at about 20,000 votes against 3,000-plus by Mustaffa.
He will be a very powerful deputy president, probably the most powerful in the party’s history because of the extent of his victory and also the base he has built up over the years.
He will be the hands-on No 2 the party needs.
Wan Azizah may be the president and Anwar’s wife but he will be the man Anwar turns to to get things done in the party.
“He will have to be the general from day one and hit the ground running. Expectations are high and the burden will be great.
“People are watching how he treats the losing side and he will be judged for that,” said Rafizi who is a top executive in the Selangor government.
The Sarawak elections will be his first test as the new No 2.
Nurul Izzah’s entry into the PKR stratosphere means that the party is now more dominated by her family than ever before.
But she is someone to watch.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail tried to look nonchalant as their daughter went up the stage amid loud applause.
As party leaders, she was just another winner but as parents she is their accomplished daughter.
It was definitely a generational change type of moment.
Nurul Izzah will be dogged by the issue of being Anwar’s daughter in the days to come.
Earlier on, when her then political ally Datuk Zaid Ibrahim attacked her parents’ leadership, people in the party were upset that she did not defend them.
But if she did, would she be defending them as her parents or her party leaders?
Her win comes with its own kind of burden and there will always be the whiff of nepotism hanging over her.
Nurul Izzah is slight of frame and quite petite but she has an exceptionally powerful voice.
Her features are a perfect combination of her parents - people in the party look at her and they see Anwar one moment and Wan Azizah the next.
It is little wonder she did so well in the contest considering that she is quite inexperienced.
Even secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution who spoke after her admitted: “It’s not easy to speak after the top VP.”
There is no denying there was some degree of trying to sweep the grievances and issues of the last few months under the carpet.
There were a lot of calls for the party to move on and endless references to the 13th general election and their big dream of taking Putrajaya.
The Sarawak elections was also a rallying point and, of course, the defence of the party’s frontline state Selangor.
There was also a lot of bashing ex-party member Zaid who some reporters called “the man with no name.”
Numerous speakers thrashed him for causing the party so much trouble and embarrassment but, from the start till the end of the congress, there was not a single mention of his name.
It was as though they wanted to erase his memories from the annals of the party.
A very bold and interesting aspect of this congress was the way the party took the race issue by the horns.
Wan Azizah had declared war on the issue of ketuanan Melayu or Malay supremacy in her policy speech on Saturday.
Subsequently, speakers and other top party leaders spoke extensively on the party’s multi-racial identity.
“The party decided to confront the issue and not be apologetic or defensive about it.
We believe the Malays, especially the Malay middle class want dignity and respect, not hide behind the idea of supremacy,” said Rafizi.
But, he admitted, it remains to be seen how this will go down with Malays
By Joceline Tan
Nurul Izzah Anwar eclipsed many bigger stars in the party on the final day of the PKR congress.
AZMIN ALI’S big moment in PKR politics finally came when he was declared the new deputy president by a landslide victory.
But he had to share the moment with two other people at the PKR national congress yesterday.
One was the top vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar, the new rising star in PKR.
The other was none other than the man he defeated for the No 2 post, Mustaffa Kamil Ayob.
Both of them were among a string of leaders who spoke at the close of the congress.
Nurul Izzah stood out for who she is and the fact that she had won so convincingly.
Mustaffa, on the other hand, showed sportsmanship, which is so rare in today’s politics.
But more important and as far as the delegates were concerned, he showed that he was a loyal party man despite deep grievances about the recently-concluded elections.
Delegates had arrived looking for answers, many were angry and had issues with the way the elections were carried out and the top party leaders had to do a lot of explaining.
But as Rafizi Ramli, a politician in the Youth wing pointed out, it was Mustaffa’s speech that helped bring closure for many delegates.
He was magnanimous, congratulated the winner and assured everyone he was staying put and they gave him a standing ovation.
When Mustaffa finished speaking, a grateful Azmin stood up, took the former’s hand and held it high in the air.
Azmin’s win was convincing at about 20,000 votes against 3,000-plus by Mustaffa.
He will be a very powerful deputy president, probably the most powerful in the party’s history because of the extent of his victory and also the base he has built up over the years.
He will be the hands-on No 2 the party needs.
Wan Azizah may be the president and Anwar’s wife but he will be the man Anwar turns to to get things done in the party.
“He will have to be the general from day one and hit the ground running. Expectations are high and the burden will be great.
“People are watching how he treats the losing side and he will be judged for that,” said Rafizi who is a top executive in the Selangor government.
The Sarawak elections will be his first test as the new No 2.
Nurul Izzah’s entry into the PKR stratosphere means that the party is now more dominated by her family than ever before.
But she is someone to watch.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail tried to look nonchalant as their daughter went up the stage amid loud applause.
As party leaders, she was just another winner but as parents she is their accomplished daughter.
It was definitely a generational change type of moment.
Nurul Izzah will be dogged by the issue of being Anwar’s daughter in the days to come.
Earlier on, when her then political ally Datuk Zaid Ibrahim attacked her parents’ leadership, people in the party were upset that she did not defend them.
But if she did, would she be defending them as her parents or her party leaders?
Her win comes with its own kind of burden and there will always be the whiff of nepotism hanging over her.
Nurul Izzah is slight of frame and quite petite but she has an exceptionally powerful voice.
Her features are a perfect combination of her parents - people in the party look at her and they see Anwar one moment and Wan Azizah the next.
It is little wonder she did so well in the contest considering that she is quite inexperienced.
Even secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution who spoke after her admitted: “It’s not easy to speak after the top VP.”
There is no denying there was some degree of trying to sweep the grievances and issues of the last few months under the carpet.
There were a lot of calls for the party to move on and endless references to the 13th general election and their big dream of taking Putrajaya.
The Sarawak elections was also a rallying point and, of course, the defence of the party’s frontline state Selangor.
There was also a lot of bashing ex-party member Zaid who some reporters called “the man with no name.”
Numerous speakers thrashed him for causing the party so much trouble and embarrassment but, from the start till the end of the congress, there was not a single mention of his name.
It was as though they wanted to erase his memories from the annals of the party.
A very bold and interesting aspect of this congress was the way the party took the race issue by the horns.
Wan Azizah had declared war on the issue of ketuanan Melayu or Malay supremacy in her policy speech on Saturday.
Subsequently, speakers and other top party leaders spoke extensively on the party’s multi-racial identity.
“The party decided to confront the issue and not be apologetic or defensive about it.
We believe the Malays, especially the Malay middle class want dignity and respect, not hide behind the idea of supremacy,” said Rafizi.
But, he admitted, it remains to be seen how this will go down with Malays
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