The wife of Malaysian political dissident Anwar Ibrahim said Sunday she will give up her parliamentary seat to make way for her husband's return to public office, state media reported.
The opposition Keadilan party president, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, will defend her parliamentary seat in Permatang Pauh in northern Penang state in the upcoming March 8 polls.
Anwar was sacked and jailed for corruption in 1998 and cannot stand for office until April this year, but he could return to parliament by running for any Keadilan-held seat in a by-election after the ban expires.
"If I win, I will make way for my husband to contest for this seat in a by-election after the ban under the law, which bars him from contesting until this April, ends," she was quoted as saying by Bernama.
Wan Azizah has held the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in Anwar's homestate of Penang since 1999. Anwar has said he aims to return to parliament by contesting a by-election in a Keadilan-held seat after April.
Wan Azizah is Keadilan's only lawmaker in parliament, after the party, which had previously held five seats, suffered a setback in 2004 polls.
Keadilan will contest about 100 of the 222 parliamentary seats, its strongest effort so far as it aims to deprive the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government coalition of its two-thirds majority.
Anwar's eldest daughter, 27-year-old Nurul Izzah Anwar, will contest the elections for the first time, going for the seat representing the urban Lembah Pantai constituency in central Selangor state.
Anwar was a highly regarded finance minister and deputy premier before being sacked by then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad in 1998. He was jailed on corruption and sodomy charges, which he said were politically motivated.
The sex charge was overturned but the corruption conviction still stands, and Anwar has accused the government of timing the March polls in order to stall his return to politics.
Agence France-Presse - 2/24/2008 11:17 AM
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