Anwar's 27-year-old daughter may take on Cabinet minister

todayonline
Nazry Bahrawi
nazry@mediacorp.com.sg

SHE may have just given birth to her first child in September but 27-year-old Nurul Izzah Anwar (picture), the eldest daughter of Malaysian opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim, has no intention of letting motherhood stand in the way of her political debut at the general election widely expected in March.

Speaking to Today in an exclusive interview, her mother, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who heads Keadilan, confirmed that members of the opposition party were backing Ms Nurul to contest the polls.

Dubbed "Puteri Reformasi" or "Reform Princess" by the Malaysian media, Ms Nurul who has a Master's degree in international relations from the Washington-based Johns Hopkins University, was just 18 when her father, then Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, was imprisoned for sodomy and corruption.

"She was very young at the time tragedy befell her family with the arrest of her father. A lot of people sympathised with her," said Mr Sim Tze Tin, Mr Anwar's political secretary.

Describing Ms Nurul as "courageous" for her relentless campaign across Malaysia to have her father freed from prison, Mr Sim added: "The time has now come for her to emerge as a political force." More...