PETALING JAYA: An analyst has questioned Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s appointment as PKR’s election director alongside Nurul Izzah Anwar, particularly given his election defeat and lack of a central party post.
Although Nurul Izzah also lost her parliamentary seat in the 2022 general election (GE15), Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid of Universiti Sains Malaysia said her appointment was understandable since she was the party’s deputy president.
“But Saifuddin’s appointment is a big mystery. I’m sure PKR has a better candidate than Saifuddin from among its elected representatives to work alongside Nurul Izzah,” he told FMT.
At GE15, Saifuddin lost his Kulim-Bandar Baharu seat which he had held since 2018 to Perikatan Nasional’s Roslan Hashim by a whopping 13,061 votes. He was the PKR secretary-general at the time.
Nurul Izzah also failed to defend her Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat, which had been held by either her, her father or mother since 1982.
The then PKR vice-president lost to PAS’s Fawwaz Jan, who won with a majority of 5,272 votes.
On Saturday, PKR announced the appointment of Nurul Izzah and Saifuddin as its election directors, marking the second time that the pair would work together in this area. Saifuddin was also appointed to PKR’s political bureau.
Fauzi did not rule out the possibility that Saifuddin’s appointment was aimed at complementing Nurul Izzah, saying the home minister was perceived as the “commander” in the partnership.
Syahruddin Awang Ahmad of Universiti Malaysia Sabah agreed, saying PKR might be seeking to leverage Saifuddin’s skills in strategic planning.
He said it was still a risky move on the part of PKR, citing Saifuddin’s GE15 defeat and weak position at the grassroots level, adding however that he and Nurul Izzah could still complement each other.
“Nurul Izzah could make up for Saifuddin’s weaknesses in terms of her grassroots popularity, whereas Saifuddin could contribute to the partnership through his strategy and connections,” he said.
