KAJANG: PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has queried Umno Wanita chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil on why the latter was so upset with the former’s candidacy in the Kajang by-election
“Why is she vexed with my nomination? As a woman I can contest in any seat, so can Shahrizat. That is why she is the (Umno Wanita) wing chief,” said Wan Azizah at a DAP organised ceramah in Sungai Dua last night.
On Sunday, Shahrizat had accused Wan Azizah of being PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim’s tool to hold on to power at any cost, including at the expense of victimising Kajang voters.
“When she (Wan Azizah) was Permatang Pauh MP, she was forced to resign due to Anwar’s political greed. She was used as a tool then and now again in Kajang. It is the Kajang voters who are being victimised,” Shahrizat was reported as saying.
Defending her nomination in Kajang, Wan Azizah said that her decision to run for the by-election stemmed from the injustice meted to her husband and others.
“We fight based on issues. I am here because of the injustice. My husband (Anwar) was wrongfully sentenced.
“There have been injustices against (DAP parliamentary chief) Lim Kit Siang and (DAP secretary general) Lim Guan Eng. I am here to fight for all Malaysians,” she said.
Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal overturned a High Court acquittal and slapped Anwar with five years jail time for sodomising his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
The Permatang Pauh MP had since posted bail and filed an appeal at the Federal Court.
Taking a swipe at Shahrizat, Wan Azizah queried the supposed ignorance of the former minister on her family’s involvement in the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) scandal in 2011.
Shahrizat’s husband, Mohamed Salleh Ismail is the executive chairman for the company while her children are also listed as board members.
During the hearing of the case in 2012, Shahrizat testified that she had no knowledge of her husband and children’s activities in the scandal ridden venture.
“How come she had no clue on what her husband and her kids were doing in NFCorp?,” Azizah questioned.
Wan Azizah would be facing MCA vice-president Chew Mei Fun in the March 23 state seat by-election.
The state seat comprises 39,728 registered voters. At the last general election in May 2013, the seat saw a voter turnout of 87.9% with 541 spoilt votes.
