Wan Azizah hits back, says got the chops to lead Selangor
(TMI) – Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has hit back at critics who questioned her suitability for the Selangor menteri besar post, saying that she has the experience to lead the country’s wealthiest state.
“I understand the difficulties of leading, whether as the leader of a new party since it was set up 15 years ago, and also as the head of the family when Anwar was jailed for six years,” the PKR president said in her opening address at the party’s 10th annual congress in Shah Alam today.
She said she had been leading the multi-racial party since 1999 when her husband, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, was jailed for sodomy and corruption.
Dr Wan Azizah also cited her good ties with other opposition leaders, including DAP’s Lim Kit Siang, the late PAS president Fadzil Mohd Noor, and former PKR deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali, who headed Parti Rakyat Malaysia before its merger with Parti Keadilan Nasional to form PKR.
She said a person’s qualification, earnestness, competency and integrity should be the main criteria for selecting leaders, whether at the party, state or national level.
“Gender, age and looks are just superficial excuses,” the Kajang assemblywoman said.
Umno lawyer Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun had said last month Dr Wan Azizah may not be a suitable candidate for the MB post because a woman has menses.
