Malaysia: Anwar’s wife set to reprise political role

By Chan Kok Leong

KUALA LUMPUR

Wan Azizah Wan Ismail -- the wife of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim -- looks set to return to legislative duties Sunday by stepping into her husband’s shoes for the second time, this time to contest a by-election in the country's largest state.

Anwar was the frontrunner, and winning the seat was likely to pave way for him to become chief minister of Selangor -- a powerful platform from which he could attack the government ahead of the next national election -- but a high court appeal in a long-running sodomy case could now see him jailed for five years.

Anwar’s lawyers have won a stay of the sentence, pending an appeal, but for now he is disqualified from contesting the seat in Malaysia’s most affluent state, which surrounds the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Wan Azizah, the 61-year-old president of Anwar’s opposition People’s Justice Party, is instead to contest the by-election in Kajang against Chew Mei Fun from Prime Minister Najib Razak's government coalition.

The coalition has ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957, although Najib’s popular support has weakened over the last two elections.

Former government doctor Wan Azizah -- who was a three-time member of the House of Representatives -- is expected to replace Lee Chin Cheh whose resignation from the post January 27 was expected to pave way for Anwar to contest the seat.

In 1999, Wan Azizah was a reluctant politician forced to the helm of the newly formed People’s Justice Party after Anwar was sentenced to nine years jail over a 1998 sodomy charge, which the Supreme Court also later overturned. Fifteen years on, what will this mean for the People’s Coalition if she wins on Sunday?

Political scientist Wong Chin Huat describes it as "1999 all over again."

"When she first contested, Anwar had just been jailed after a trial most people felt was unfair. And although he is not jailed yet, the similarities are uncanny," Wong told the Anadolu Agency.

When Wan Azizah won in 1999 -- despite being a newcomer -- it was seen as criticism of the governing National Front, said Wong, a fellow of the Penang Institute think-tank.

"If she is able to win and improve the margin on Sunday, it means another backlash against the court verdict."

This is an important indicator for Anwar and his coalition on whether they have the voters behind them, he added.

Despite winning a majority of the votes, Anwar’s People’s Coalition lost in last year's General Election.

According to Merdeka Center director Ibrahim Suffian, the challenges are different for Wan Azizah this time.

"This time, she is not just replacing Anwar as a legislator for Kajang, but she is also expected by Anwar’s inner circle to be the next chief minister," said Ibrahim who heads the opinion research firm.

"That will be tough as she will be the first woman chief minister and there will have to be a lot of persuading needed for the party and their coalition partners to make this a reality," said Ibrahim.

On this note, Ibrahim said whether she will be endorsed as the next chief minister will go to show whether the inner circle can convince the rest of the party and their coalition partners, the Democratic Action Party and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party.

The partners had originally intended to back Anwar as chief minister, and so it will be interesting to see if they will do the same for Wan Azizah, he said.

Wan Azizah was a member of parliament for his seat, Permatang Pauh, from 1999-2008. Winning three times in 1999, 2004 and 2008, she held the seat until he was released from jail and was eligible to contest again.

Wan Azizah quit the Permatang Pauh in August 2008 for Anwar to contest and win and return to the parliament as the opposition leader.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has said that the government was not involved in Anwar’s sodomy conviction and that it "was a coincidence" that the decision came during the by-election.

"The case been ongoing for two years and has been delayed about 70 times. Anwar has many problems and his appeal against the decision is not over yet. It would surely disrupt the proceedings if Wan Azizah, Anwar’s wife, is elected," he said.

He added that Wan Azizah is trying to draw sympathy over the court case.

In 2008, Anwar was accused of having sex with a male aide. A High Court cleared him of the charges in 2012, citing a lack of evidence, and Ibrahim then led the opposition to its strongest ever performance in the May 2013 general elections. The government appealed the High Court’s verdict, the Court of Appeal overturning the acquittal March 7, sentencing Anwar to five years in jail.

Both opposition and human rights groups have described the charges as a political vendetta by the governing party.

The deputy Asia head of Human Rights Watch, Phil Robertson, described the latest verdict as a "dark day for the Malaysia's judiciary which has shown itself incapable of standing up straight when national political issues are in play in cases before them."

If Anwar, 66, loses his appeal, he would be jailed and barred from the next national election, which must be held by 2018. For years, Anwar has been seen as the key challenger to the ruling party.

Earlier this week, media tried to tie the disappearance of Malaysian Airways flight MH370 to Anwar, suggesting that pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah had hijacked the plane as a form of political protest as he was an "obsessive" supporter.

Fuziah Salleh, a vice president of Ibrahim’s party, has said that the focus on Zaharie was meant to tie the opposition to the aircraft’s disappearance.

"There’s a joke in Malaysia that if anything goes wrong, it’s Anwar’s fault," she said.

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