NURUL Izzah Anwar had been hinting for months that she would quit her senior posts in PKR, as she wanted to dispel accusations of nepotism in the party.

Party sources said the 38-year-old Permatang Pauh MP had even considered not contesting in the party’s August elections over fears of nepotism in the run as vice-president.

This was since her father, Anwar Ibrahim, had already returned to take over as party president after PKR and its allies in the Pakatan Harapan coalition took over federal power.

She did not want Anwar to be constantly accused of turning the party into a family business – an allegation that has dogged PKR ever since it was founded along with the reformasi movement in 1999.

Nurul Izzah’s mother, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, had been party president since its birth and only made way for Anwar in August. Nurul has been a vice-president since 2010 and lawmaker since 2008.

“When (Nurul Izzah) stands in party elections and wins, people think that it’s because of her father,” said a source who knows the Permatang Pauh MP.

“When she gets appointed to a post, even if she is capable of doing the job, people will also think it’s because of her father. It’s been really difficult for her to convince people of her own merits.”

Nurul Izzah clinched the highest number of votes in the vice-president’s race this year. Before that, she had been appointed to head the government’s task force to reform its technical and vocational education training system (TVET).

On Sunday, she was appointed to head Penang PKR.

In a statement yesterday, Nurul Izzah relinquished all her posts in the party, including that of vice-president. She will also no longer serve the government in any capacity.

She will remain an ordinary member and serve out her term as MP.

Despite PKR’s stated aim to end corruption, nepotism and cronyism, its detractors and critics accused it of these practices in the appointment of posts internally.

These accusations were a constant theme in the fractious party elections this year.

Hours before Nurul Izzah announced her decision yesterday, PKR lawyer and former central committee member Latheefa Koya accused the senior leadership of cronyism in the selection of state chiefs.

Another source said being in a senior party post was also difficult in the internal battles PKR leaders often get caught up in, especially now that there two strong factions – one linked to Anwar and another to party deputy president Azmin Ali.

“Whenever Anwar gets into a disagreement with the other senior leaders in PKR or PH, she will feel caught in the middle because she is also part of the senior leadership,” said the source, who sits on the party’s supreme council.

“(Her decision) is unfortunate and I feel sad for her. But I support whatever decision she makes.” – December 18, 2018.