PKR president Anwar Ibrahim today ended all speculations on who will be the party’s Penang chief when he named his daughter, Pematang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah.

She replaces the incumbent Mansor Othman.

Party members reportedly are unhappy with Mansor’s failure to defend the party’s interests in the DAP-ruled state.

Nurul is also a party vice-president.

Last night, Anwar also confirmed Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Fuziah Salleh as the party’s Pahang chief and Works Minister Baru Bian continuing another term as the Sarawak chief.

Fahmi Fadzil, the Lembah Pantai MP, announced the appointments on Anwar’s behalf in a statement this morning.

Baru, the incumbent three-term Sarawak chief, was widely speculated to have been returned comfortably after his sole challenger, Miri MP Dr Michael Teo, had only the support of only six of the party’s 29 divisions in the state.

Even though the voting method is the secret ballot, sources told The Malaysian Insight after “verifying each vote via witnesses who sighted how each other voted” that the six who supported Dr Teo were the Sngs – businessman Sng Chee Hua (Sarikei), his brother Chee Eng (Kapit) and his son Larry (Julau) – Roland Enggan (Baram), Lau Liak Koi (Limbang) and Dr Teo himself.

Baru, who was back in his hometown of Lawas for a series of functions, and Sibuti division chief Mohdar Ismail were the only two absentees from the state leadership council meeting, they reportedly could still cast their vote.

PKR Sarawak information chief Vernon Kedit explained that absentees can cast their votes via a letter.

There was interest in the picking of the Sarawak state chief this time due to the presence of the Sngs, controversial figures in Sarawak politics.

Newcomers to the party, having joined only after the general election, there were speculations that the businessman, who considers himself a friend of Anwar, was pushing his son Larry to replace Baru.

The speculation was further reinforced when Baru last month admitted there was “an underhanded” attempt to engineer his ouster from the position he had held for nine years.

On his arrival in Kuching from Miri on November 24, Baru told supporters who had turned up at the Kuching international airport to show their support for him, that it was “very clear” that there are “some people” trying to divert from how the PKR state chief is picked, “trying to divide us and trying to determine our future in this new government”

He did not say who the “some people” were but many of his supporters say he was referring to the Sngs. – December 16, 2018.