Media interviews: Nurul backs Zaid but urges caution
By Stephanie Sta Maria and Syed Jaymal Zahiid, Free Malaysia Today
KUALA LUMPUR: Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar is at odds with her father regarding PKR deputy presidential hopeful Zaid Ibrahim.
Anwar Ibrahim, the PKR supremo, had warned party leaders not to engage Umno-linked media but Zaid had stressed that he would not hesitate to talk to all media organisations.
However, Nurul said she agreed with Zaid and she could understand where the former Umno law minister was coming from.
“I can rationalise Zaid’s statement because we cannot espouse freedom of media and then take an extreme position with certain media,” she told FMT.
However, Nurul stressed on the need for caution when speaking to the media, especially those owned or linked to Umno.
“What we need to do is exercise caution, practice constructive engagement and be very careful to ensure that our words are not manipulated. We cannot boycott a particular media no matter how unfair or bigoted they are,” she said.
Zaid had recently given interviews to both Utusan Malaysia and New Straits Times, launching veiled attacks against, what some observers have dubbed as, the “Anwar-Azmin cartel”.
Azmin is Zaid’s main rival in the contest for deputy presidency and touted as Anwar’s preferred choice for the number two slot.
Zaid, who joined PKR last year, had consistently cried foul over alleged attempts to undermine his deputy presidency bid.
‘Umno culture’ in PKR
In the interview with Utusan’s weekend edition, Zaid had lashed out at the party leadership, saying that “Umno culture” was emerging in PKR.
