Anwar’s wife steps in to fill gap as PR alliance regroups

(AsiaOne) – The three-party Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance, bereft of leader Anwar Ibrahim, has swiftly reorganised itself, with his family taking the lead in trying to fill the gap.

Just hours after the former deputy prime minister was taken to prison to start a five-year term on Tuesday, the PR secretariat met and decided that Anwar’s wife and Parti Keadilan Rakyat president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail would be the coalition’s chair – at least for tomorrow’s top leadership pow-wow.

Yesterday, the six Anwar children launched a “March to Freedom” campaign to push for his release.

The drive includes spreading awareness through the media, visits to Malaysians overseas and foreign governments, as well as sending postcards to remind people of what they claim to be persecution by a judiciary that does the Najib government’s bidding.

“As his children, we will take over his mantle and continue his struggle, hopes and ambition,” Ms Nurul Nuha Anwar, 30, told a press conference while choking back tears at the family home.

Ms Nurul Nuha, the second of the six children, will spearhead the campaign to bring diplomatic pressure to bear on the government, highlighting human rights and civil liberties violations, including political incarceration.