Nurul Izzah should be judged on merit, not weight of family name

The Star

07-05-2025

IT IS inevitable that the question of family lineage involving Nurul Izzah Anwar would be brought up by her detractors even before she has made any announcement on whether she will make a bid for the party's number two post.
The huge open endorsement by the leaders of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat for her has created much excitement.
Until yesterday, the expectation was that incumbent deputy president Datuk Rafizi Ramli would be challenged by secretary-general Datuk Nasution Ismail.
But as the clock ticks away, there has been no word from the Home Minister if there would be another bid to fight Rafizi following his failed attempt in the 2022 party polls.
It has spurred party leaders to push Nurul, the former Permatang Pauh MP, to take on Rafizi.
The talk for Nurul Izzah to contest the deputy president post has reignited the same tired discussion – is this a form of nepotism?
The only argument against her is just one – she is the daughter of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the current Prime Minister and party president. Nothing else.
No one including her critics questions her abilities, principles and hard-work. She does not push her weight across unlike some political personalities who think the family name is an entitlement.
Without holding any government positions, she has quietly shouldered the party work as well as her activism.
She has championed issues often overlooked — educational equity, women's empowerment, technical and vocational education and training, institutional reform and the plight of the Palestinians.
So, the attacks against her deserve deeper scrutiny. It assumes, wrongly, that familial ties automatically disqualify a person from public leadership, regardless of merit, sacrifice, or contribution. That assumption is both unjust and undemocratic.
Nurul Izzah Anwar is not new to the political arena. She did not arrive at this moment by shortcut or favour.
She entered politics at a time when her father was imprisoned, not in power. In short, at a time when not many wanted to join PKR.
She stood in difficult constituencies, such as Lembah Pantai, against formidable odds.
Nurul Izzah was thrust into politics, at the age of 18, took to street protests and earned the moniker 'Puteri Reformasi' when Anwar was jailed on trumped up charges.
It would be grossly unfair that capable individuals like her are denied the right to do more simply because of political lineage or to withdraw from holding posts in public service.
As one report put it, this is not how democracy should work. We should judge candidates not by who they are related to, but by what they have done, what they stand for, and what they aspire to achieve.
Nepotism is when individuals are handed power without merit, accountability, or process, it added.
If Nurul Izzah has been sitting at home, watching Korean TV dramas and just being a homemaker, oblivious to politics and the party, and then suddenly is asked to contest the deputy president post because of her family name, then it is clear cut nepotism.
She is contesting, not inheriting, if it happens, and it won't be an easy contest.
Nurul Izzah has to win the post and not be appointed. The decision lies with the members of her party, through a proper democratic election.
As a candidate, she must be assessed, evaluated, commended or even criticised based on her ideas, record, and vision. Not because of her name, but because of her merit.
But here is the irony – criticism of her family lineage did not surface when she was said to defend her vice-president post but suddenly it changed, among her critics, when it is just a notch up.
But more importantly, Nurul Izzah has offered hope to young voters with her decision.