Nurul Izzah, the daughter of Anwar Ibrahim and a member of his People's Justice Party (PKR), has confirmed that this will be her final term as an MP.

Izzah was elected to the Dewan Rakyat as an MP for Permatang Pauh, Penang, during the Pakatan Harapan coalition's historic 2018 victory.

However, her decision comes less than a year after that victory.

This is the end

Speaking to the Straits Times(ST), she said, "this is my final term. That's my plan now."

During her interview, Izzah did not give any specific reasons for her decision.

However, she did speak at length about her unhappiness with Malaysian politics.

Bread-and-butter issues

According to the ST article, Izzah feels that PH are focusing too much on the 1MDB case and not enough on the problems on the ground.

While the 1MDB case could "serve" up to a point, she said people would seek "comfort and improvement" in their daily lives.

Concern over defecting Barisan Nasional MPs

Izzah also expressed concern over the number of MPs who have been defecting from the Barisan Nasional coalition to join the PH.

Some of the MPs who have done so then joined Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's party, the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM or Bersatu).

Izzah mentioned to ST, "We have to have a strong opposition. It's a sad predicament… I believe a two-coalition system is important for the future of Malaysia."

Izzah previously resigned as the Vice-President of PKR in Dec. 2018.

Days before that decision, she criticised the willingness of the PH to accept defectors from BN.

Due to the defections, BN has had their seats dwindle from 79 to just 41. Meanwhile, the PPBM have grown from 13 to 22 seats.

Malay matters

Izzah added that PH had trouble winning support from the Malay community. Said Izzah to the Straits Times:

"We did not win the majority of Malay support and we need to address root causes. Why do Malays feel like they have no choice?

Why do they feel PAS Umno is an option for them? Maybe they feel they don't belong in this current government."

Izzah also expressed concern that Malaysian politics had become increasingly polarised, with more support going towards either the right or left wings, with little room left for moderates.

Despite the defections, the BN have scored two by-election victories over the PH in Semenyih and the Cameron Highlands, leading to what Izzah described as a "wake-up call".

Quitting the Parliamentary Committee

Izzah's announcement comes on the same day as her decision to quit the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC), according to the Malay Mail.

This was apparently because the chairman, Ronald Kiandee, had defected from UMNO to join Bersatu.

But according to Izzah, she believed that the chairman of the PAC needed to hail from an opposition party, in order to provide checks to the government.

Agreed. The chairperson of the PAC must be filled by the Opposition to pursue accountability of the Executive. The current Speaker has clearly outlined intent to institutionalise reforms - to ensure Parly is on equal footing to the Executive. Will remind him to do so for the PAC https://t.co/nD82yojsGt

— Nurul Izzah Anwar 🇲🇾 🌺 (@n_izzah) March 15, 2019

When Free Malaysia Today asked Izzah why she resigned, she told them to refer to her tweet.

With Izzah seemingly ending her career in politics once her term ends, it remains to be seen what impact this will have on her father's bid for the Prime Ministership.

According to a Malaymail article, Anwar himself had earlier claimed that his daughter was fed up with the power play behind the scenes.

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Top image from Nurul Izzah Anwar's Facebook page