P121: Puteri Reformasi’s induction of fire at Lembah Pantai

On the eve of Nomination Day, Nurul Izzah Anwar, the PKR parliamentary candidate for Lembah Pantai, reflected on how much she was a figure tossed on the rapids of history and how much her candidacy was due to self-propulsion.

Understandably, this 27-year-old eldest child of reformasi icon Anwar Ibrahim, found it difficult, in the rush of eleventh hour preparations for her electoral campaign, to attain a zone of visibility as far as the past was concerned.

Nine years ago, Nurul was preparing to go off to Petronas University in Tronoh, Perak for a course in engineering when history bore down on her - her father, the deputy prime minister, was sacked and dragged through a legal and political maelstrom whose reverberations are still being felt.

Of a sudden a pre-university student on the threshold of entry into the world of academic theory was catapulted into the university of hard knocks where you learn from a succession of experiences.

“It was hard for me to make much sense of things as they happened,” she said in an interview with Malaysiakini before hurrying off to a meeting with campaign aides. MORE DINMERICAN’S HERE

UNDI INFO: WILAYAH PERSEKUTUAN: P121 – Lembah Pantai

Election 2008: Shahrizat: Age won't count in contest for Lembah Pantai - KUALA LUMPUR: Any suggestion that age will be a factor in the battle for the Lembah Pantai parliamentary seat was dismissed by incumbent MP Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil after nominations closed yesterday. "The beautiful thing about the Barisan Nasional is we don't age," said the Wanita Umno deputy head. "We are constantly on the go, we are on the ground and we know what the needs of the people are. So for us, it is not about the age but our performance as MPs." It was a point that arose in view of her main challenger for the seat, Nurul Izzah Anwar, eldest child of former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, now de facto leader of Parti Keadilan Rakyat. Nurul Izzah seemed eager on her debut in electoral politics, speaking passionately on strategies and issues she wished to work on in the constituency. However, Anwar, who accompanied his daughter to the nomination centre at the Bangsar sports complex, intimated to reporters that Nurul Izzah was standing as his proxy, and would give way to him once he was eligible to stand for election again. Commenting on her father's statement, Nurul Izzah said: "I am representing the people of Lembah Pantai and if they themselves would like him to represent them, that will be decided later." Born and bred in Lembah Pantai, the 27-year-old Nurul Izzah, whose first child was born last September, is keen to garner support from young voters. Shahrizat, going for a fourth term, is unfazed. "We have no problems relating to the young," she said. "We know when to re-energise ourselves and when to improve on our mission and vision. So for me, in Lembah Pantai, age is not a criterion at all."

Feb 27, 2008:

ELECTION 2008: 'Opposition thinks it is so easy' - Since 1995, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil had battled big names in ensuring she remains the wakil rakyat. They include former Lord President Tun Salleh Abbas, contesting under the Semangat 46 banner, former Parti Keadilan Rakyat strong man, lawyer Zainur Zakaria and the now-defunct Parti Rakyat Malaysia's secretary-general, Sanusi Osman. She has taken all these battles in stride and is preparing to face yet another -- this time from PKR's Nurul Izzah Anwar, 27, daughter of PKR president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and its de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Shahrizat thinks the big guns are attracted not by the personality but rather the constituency. "It is the 'kawasan' (area). I have been blessed to be at Lembah Pantai. It is a microcosm of Malaysia," she said. She believes the opposition think that it is easy to influence the voters here. The area consists of Malays (54.5 per cent), Chinese (27.6), Indians (18.2) and others (1). Shahrizat said during an election the opposition would come over and incite the voters and once the election was over, they would leave."They promise all sorts of things that they cannot deliver. I have to pick up the pieces. I pening kepala lah (I get a headache). "The people here are my family. If they are not happy, they tell me. I have a comfortable relationship with them."

Feb 28, 2008:

Anwar's daughter steps into political wilderness: (Reuters) - The eldest daughter of Malaysia's opposition leader is making her electoral debut in next month's election that could make or break her family's political future. Nurul Izzah Anwar, a 27-year-old who has just given birth, has joined her mother to fight the government in the March 8 poll many say could be Anwar Ibrahim's last hurrah if his party loses badly.