Are there three camps in PKR? What happens if Anwar doesn’t become PM? Does Dr M plan to remain as PM beyond two years? PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar, known to reporters as ‘Puteri Reformasi’, tells the New Straits Times that not being in the cabinet won’t stop her from protecting and empowering women and children
Question: Is it true that PKR is divided into three camps?
Answer: Every party has its own dynamics. For PKR, it’s a party with many talents. Whether you see (PKR vice-president) Rafizi Ramli or (Economic Affairs Minister) Datuk Seri Azmin Ali or (PKR Youth chief) Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad or (PKR Youth secretary) Chang Lih Kang or others, there are so many stars who have been with us since 1998.
So the talent pool is a blessing and we can manage our organisation. Now, some of them have ministerial posts too.
I think we need to inculcate a certain degree of understanding and that there are certain channels to follow internally in addressing certain issues. It’s a work in progress.
Q: How do you see the conflict between Azmin and Rafizi? Is it serious?
A: I don’t think it’s a conflict per se anymore. I’m quite happy they have their own styles in terms of delivering service. I think Rafizi is focusing on the need to cultivate interest and membership up north because, at the moment, everyone is focusing on activating members in Terengganu and Kelantan, since the two states didn’t fall into our hands. So that’s going to be challenging
Azmin, I think, has his plate full. He has to manage almost RM1 trillion worth of assets from Khazanah, Felda and others. He is a very meticulous person. He’s an economist by training and had worked extensively as a part-time waiter at a Japanese restaurant. So, if you can cut fish that meticulously, you can do anything. But my point is that both individuals are unique.
I don’t know why people keep focusing on our factionalism, but I would put it this way: usually, on a mountain, there’s only one particular lion, but imagine if there are four lions on that same mountain.
So that’s PKR for you. It’s nice, we roar very loudly.
Q: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says he may hold the prime minister post beyond two years. Some say Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim might not be the next prime minister. Your views?
A: This conspiracy theory has formed a large part of my life and I’m really sick of it. When I was 18, it started with a dirty laundry list of allegations against Anwar. Then, it was about who wears the crown and who tried to challenge the crown. But at the end of the day, I’m just very optimistic that we have crossed the impossible Rubicon.
I don’t think all these petty squabbles or further conspiratorial squabbles will have any effect. My father was just released (from prison). He was in captivity for a long time, more than 11 years of his life, so of course he needs time to absorb the situation and environment. Besides, he has pledged full support for the government and the prime minister.
Q: Does Anwar care about whether he becomes the next prime minister?
A: I think he’s going to make a wonderful prime minister. I love that he taught me everything I needed to know about democracy and diversity. I love that he set up PKR when nobody believed in multiracialism, and I love that he spoke out against the positive-based economic discriminatory system based on race and moved it to needs. He did all that, and that’s the value of having someone who can help build a more compassionate Malaysia.
But at the end of the day, it’s up to Malaysians to choose who they want as prime minister.
Q: Does that mean it doesn’t matter if Anwar is not prime minister, but someone else is instead?
A: In the agreement (Pakatan Harapan manifesto), it was mentioned that Anwar (will be the next prime minister). An agreement is like going into marriage, an akad. For example, when there was talk about (PKR president) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail being offered the prime minister’s post, we went back to our akad and said that we promised that Dr Mahathir will be made the prime minister.
So for me, whatever we do in our lives, our worth as a person depends on how much we value our agreement, promises and pledges.
Q: You mentioned that you had a meeting with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef). Can you tell us more about that meeting?
A: Unicef did a study called “Children Without” and this was released in the last parliamentary session. It was one of the key reports that we wanted to debate extensively in Parliament because it found that most Malaysian children in the urban ghetto, the urban poor, suffer from a lack of nutrition, far worse than the children of Ghana of the same age.
Despite 80 per cent of them not having savings and safety nets, they academically perform or outperform the national average. This is astounding. This means we have so much to do to address their nutritional needs, as well as education. So the country cannot stay silent, we have to do something.
Q: You have spoken a lot about sexual harassment of women for years. Recently, you became a victim of sexual harassment on live television. How do you propose to change this? How difficult will this be as changing mindsets is challenging?
A: I’m going to convene a meeting with a group of lawyers because we have to draft, ideally, legislation to address sexual harassment in this country because, at the moment, I don’t think it’s sufficient. We have some guidelines, but in universities or workplaces, there is nothing punitive.
We do have some cases at the Federal Court that have protected women, but having said that, we need to have something more.
If you look at other countries, some of them embedded a particular law which addresses sexual harassment within the discriminatory provision. Some have their own anti-sexual harassment clauses. So I will present this in the next parliamentary sitting, so at least we will have a legalistic framework to begin with.
Secondly, with regard to culture and prevailing practices, I was so encouraged, not so much about highlighting what happened to me, but more on the backlash. You see, so many Muslim women spoke out against it, so many Muslim women felt at one point in their lives they were also victims and I think it’s crucial.
Women have to be respected whether they wear a headscarf or not. In light of the incident, I hope we would be able to discuss this in a very open manner to inculcate understanding and sensitivity (in people) because it starts with one person. It starts with you. If you think it’s okay and you tolerate it, then of course it will continue.
On what happened to me, at first, as you can tell, I was shocked and taken aback. You have that moment in time where you do not know how to react as a victim. You then conform to our self-proclaimed standards of niceties and politeness when it really requires you to speak out.
Q: What do you think about the need to include sex education in the school syllabus?
A: It has to be reformed. I don’t think we are doing enough to address the needs of our children to understand the dangers of unprotected sex and the reason for abstinence before marriage. Islam is very pragmatic, and the reason why we should marry before consummation is basically to protect women. So for me, we have to reform the curriculum so that people will understand the rage of sexually-transmitted diseases.
We have to understand how the body functions, what happens if you don’t take care and manage your private space. I would definitely bring this up with the education minister and I think he’s aware of it. We absolutely have to start at a young age.
For example, children in Kenya, young boys are taught about respect for women and how you treat women starting from primary age. So similarly here, when we talk about sex education, we have to be clear. You can’t just sweep it under the carpet. You must have a clear-cut way to make sure children understand. It requires discussing things that we sometimes consider taboo. We should really be open about this and, yes, I think we are ready. We should discuss the impact of unprotected sex.
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