PROMINENT political commentator Prof James Chin is as dumbfounded as to why PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli and the party’s vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar have in recent times seemingly taken a back seat in politics.

“Many people are saying the same thing. What happened to RR (Rafizi) and NI (Nurul Izzah) since November 2022? You should be twice as active in political work now that you are in the government,” tweeted the Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania.

“So many people are hoping you can bring the Malay ground back to the middle. If you can’t do it, then promote those who can. The majority of young Malays are attracted to the ‘Moon’. What are you waiting for?”

Chin who was the inaugural Asia Institute Tasmania director was echoing the views of PKR veteran Hassan Abdul Karim who called on the party’s top leaders to take bold steps towards its rejuvenation.

To start with, Hassan suggested that Nurul Izzah who is Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s eldest daughter take charge of efforts to reclaim the party’s losses in the 15^th General Election (GE15), including her previous Permatang Pauh seat.

“If Nurul Izzah who possesses charismatic leadership like Benazir Bhutto and Megawati Sukarnoputri can succeed with the mission with her PM material, doubtlessly she can come back as a highly promising future leader of PKR,” the Pasir Gudang MP penned in a recent Facebook post.

As for Rafizi, Hassan urged the Economy Minister and Pandan MP to emulate the late Amanah deputy president Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub who as the then PAS Youth chief in 2008 willingly moved from his safe seat in Kubang Kerian (Kelantan) to his home state of Johor by contesting in Pulai in 2013 despite Johor being an UMNO-Barisan Nasional (BN) stronghold back then.

“The moral of the story is that Rafizi must be daring to take the challenge and risk to return to contest in his home state of Terengganu (which is now a PAS stronghold). It must be remembered that PKR won the Kemaman parliament seat in the 1999 general election.”

While Rafizi is now embroiled in formulating policies - the latest being the PADU central database hub for fuel subsidy - Nurul Izzah is relatively silent on national level politics ever since her removal as senior economic and financial advisor to Anwar on Feb 13 last year.

The former Permatang Pauh MP who was previously in the spotlight because of the controversy surrounding her appointment as an advisor to the PM has since joined the Finance Minister’s Special Advisory Body chaired by Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican. - Jan 3, 2024 

https://focusmalaysia.my/when-the-political-silence-of-rafizi-and-nurul-izzah-within-pkr-is-deafening/