TRIAL BY FIRE: NOT JUST ANYONE’S DAUGHTER

She was only 18  when she began getting involved and making rounds campaigning hard for justice. When she went  all over the country  canvassing for votes in the 1999 elections. She addressed mass gatherings organised by the reform movement and political parties. She spoke eloquently to clusters of kampung folk. We met her under a kampung house where over 100 people were gathered to hear her campaigning briefly for the alternative candidates. She had the charisma of her father and showed firm determination from her speech. She moved about through the people greeting everyone up close, showing warmth and great character. She had the makings of a politician with great potential in her.

Nurul Izzah is the eldest daughter to former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, and President of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, Dr.  Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. For this reason, and for many other reasons too, she is fondly known as Puteri Reformasi to Reformasi supporters.

Nurul Izzah Binti Anwar was born on 19th November 1980. She is the eldest child of six; an exemplary elder sister to Nurul Nuha, Mohd. Ehsan, Nurul Ilham, Nurul Iman and Nurul Hana. Her children are Nur Safiyah and Harith. Nurul Izzah attended her secondary education at Assunta Girl’s Secondary School and passed her SPM exams with flying colours. She was a first year student of Chemical Engineering at Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) in 1998 when her father, then the DPM, was sacked by the Prime  Minister. That incident was definitely the turning-point in her life. From just being a straight forward university student, she was hurled unprepared into the country’s turbulent political arena. And from there, she grew and became a full blown politician.

She put her studies on hold to fight for her father’s freedom and the growing reform movement. She then continued studies at Universiti Tenaga Nasional, where she obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Electric and Electronic Engineering in 2004. She pursued her studies at the well-renowned John Hopkins University in the United States and a  Master’s Degree in International Relations in 2006. She received a special mention for the HSBC Young IT Entrepreneurship Award for Best business proposal in 2004.

Nurul Izzah Binti Anwar is a politician bred from the grassroots of society, trained and groomed by the hardships and struggles of a combatant, matured by the experiences of going through the turmoils of real political life. At the tender age of 18– she started of when she was unexpectedly thrown into the battlefield as her father was wickedly captured and imprisoned for politically-motivated reasons. She stopped her studies at Universiti Teknologi Petronas  to fight for her father’s rights and justice.

She campaigned alongside the coalition of opposition political parties and various NGOs for the reform agenda. She travelled all over the country, and also went abroad to gain support for her victimized father. She met various foreign dignitaries and activists for the purpose of her campaign.

At the young age of 27, she was a parliamentary candidate for Lembah Pantai decisively defeating the incumbent ruling party opponent. Her opponent was the ruling party’s woman’s wing chairperson and senior minister.

Nurul Izzah Anwar defeated two serving ministers. No wonder they dubbed her Puteri Reformasi.

The young ‘Puteri Reformasi’ Nurul Izzah Anwar has got hard-earn experiences learned from her direct involvement in the people’s struggle. She was born into politics from the grassroots. 

May she be successful in undergoing such difficult times, trials and tribulations with the support of family and friends, with the help of all of us and above all with trust in Allah always. With this true grit even if , Allah forbid, it takes jailtime and imprisonment, through such an ordeal, she will truly rise above the rest and inherit  the mantle to carry on leading the politics of idealism.