KAJANG, 12 Mar: Despite now carrying the title ‘Datuk Seri’ and is the wife of the former acting Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is also comfortable being called ‘Kak Wan’ among Pakatan Rakyat (PR) supporters.
Dr Wan Azizah, who is also the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) candidate for the Kajang State Legislative Assembly (DUN) by-election, said that calling her Kak Wan brings her closed to the people, who come from all walks of life and levels, including voters in Kajang.
“Oh yes, I’m very comfortable. I think calling me that reflects my personality. Kak Wan is friendlier, closer and more intimate compared to my formal title which was given by the Governor of Penang,” she said when answering a question in an exclusive interview with Selangor Kini.
Dr Wan Azizah, after her husband, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, was sacked from all positions in the government and fell victim to Umno’s slander, was among the main drivers of the people’s uprising when the reformation broke out in 1998.
Her uprising against the Barisan Nasional (BN) government at the time received support from the ordinary citizen, whom she did not know, irrespective of political affiliation, race and religion.
The reformation activist at the time were mostly mobilised by ordinary citizens who did not have any interests or specific agenda, were instead only interested in fighting injustice committed by the government against Anwar and his family.
This allowed Wan Azizah and her family to interact and get closed to the people of all levels.
For Anwar, apart from being the acting number one position in the country, he was also the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, a Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, the Minister of Youth and Sports, the Education Minister and the Umno Deputy President.
