WILL NURUL IZZAH STAND ALONE?
By the time the next general election swings by, Nurul Izzah will be around 48 years old.
Despite her years in public life, she remains politically underdeveloped. She is not a sitting MP. She has never held a ministerial portfolio typically expected of a future prime minister, or even a sizable public institution.
To be sure, male politicians have taken on Cabinet posts at a similar or younger age, and with just as little experience.
Yet the bar appears to be set higher for Nurul Izzah, as is common for women in politics across the world.
Figures like Jacinda Ardern in New Zealand, Sanna Marin in Finland and Thailand’s Paetongtarn Shinawatra have all had to navigate public scepticism.
Ardern’s empathy-driven leadership drew international acclaim, but to quote another former female New Zealand prime minister, Helen Clark, she also faced “a level of hatred and vitriol which in my experience is unprecedented in our country”.
Marin’s youth was routinely questioned, and she found herself under fire after videos of her dancing at a private party with friends were leaked on social media.
Paetongtarn – daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra and niece of Yingluck Shinawatra, both of whom were former prime ministers – is currently embroiled in controversy over a leaked phone call with Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen. Her plight has potential to end the Shinawatra clan’s hold in Thai politics.
Like Paetongtarn, Nurul Izzah must contend with the double bind of legacy, which is political capital and political baggage.
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