NURUL Izzah Anwar’s resignation from Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has sparked a debate on Twitter among rival factions in PKR.

The Permatang Pauh MP resigned on Friday after Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced that new Bersatu MP Ronald Kiandee would remain as PAC chairman instead of appointing an opposition parliamentarian, which was what Pakatan Harapan promised in its election manifesto.

PKR deputy president Azmin Ali then appeared to call her a “cry baby” in a tweet.

“This country needs doers who are prepared to tough it out all the way, not cry babies. Whatever it takes, we must make it work. If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen,” the economic affairs minister tweeted.

Although he did not mention Nurul Izzah by name, Twitter users saw the post as an oblique reference to the PKR figure who is often revered as “Puteri Reformasi” (reform princess), due to her active campaigning when her father, Anwar Ibrahim, was jailed on sodomy charges.   

User Haqimi taking Azmin to task and reminding him “where would u be without Anwar’s help?”

“Nurul Izzah is a true fighter unlike u, a hypocrite, an opportunist who can’t get his own job done”.

Other users told Azmin to do his cabinet job. Another took him to task for calling a woman a cry baby.

PKR’s Setiawangsa MP, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad – a Nurul Izzah ally – tweeted:

“When a lady makes a stand, call her a cry baby? Cheap, very cheap.”

Umno MP for Rembau, Khairy Jamaluddin, criticised Azmin.

“Especially when there is no vision or direction as far as the economy is concerned. This is the biggest challenge facing Malaysia today, and @AzminAli at the wheel just cannot provide any solutions.”

Since Friday, when she quit the PAC, Nurul Izzah has given an interview to Singapore paper, The Sunday Times, saying this would be her last term as MP as she had found politics so “turbulent”.

She also said she had found it “hard” working with Dr Mahathir, who is Pakatan Harapan chairman, after “what he did to her family”, in reference to events 20 years ago when her father Anwar was sacked from government by Dr Mahathir, who was then prime minister.

Anwar was also tried for sodomy and corruption and jailed.

Nurul Izzah’s interview was criticised by lawyer and former PKR MP, N. Surendran, who said it was wrong for her to give such an interview to a Singapore paper when Dr Mahathir’s government was in negotiations with Singapore over several issues.

“Is this acceptable? In d middle of d escalating water agreement dispute & a serious ongoing territorial conflict, a prominent PH MP calls d PM a ‘former dictator who wreaked so much damage’ in an interview to a leading S’pore daily. The timing, platform & manner is all wrong,” Surendran tweeted.

Since Nurul Izzah’s resignation from PAC, Dr Mahathir has said that a new chairman for the parliamentary committee will be considered. – March 25, 2019.