Cold Storage Politicians Making Comebacks

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It looks like it could be the time of resurrection for politicians who have been in cold storage since the last general election in 2023.
Continuing from what I wrote in my column last week, we now have Nurul Izzah Anwar back in the fold after she slayed Rafizi Ramli in PKR’s party election, taking the deputy president post.
She had been out of the thick of things since losing in the last general election (although she did keep her vice-president post in the party).
There had been a few controversies, right after the general election, when she was given non-salaried positions in the government, but she had mostly been out of the scene.
ADSShe was most probably working hard in the background to slowly build back her support from the roots (or maybe the support never wavered from within the party).
So when the party election came about, she managed to rally her supporters and convince the party that she still has what it takes to lead.
Former PKR deputy president Rafizi RamliNow that the dust of the PKR polls has settled down, it’s time for Nurul Izzah to actually do the work and prove to her supporters that they made the right choice rather than just picking according to nepotism.
I mean, her father is the party president and also the country’s prime minister. That’s added pressure for sure.
KJ enters the fray?
Now, we can see that rumours are also starting to spread about another certain bigwig ex-politician who lost in the last general election, who might be coming back into the political limelight.
I say the political limelight because although he lost in the election, he made a career switch that kept him in the limelight, albeit in the media.
You guessed it, it is none other than Khairy Jamaluddin.
Khairy JamaluddinHe was the health minister before this, also the science, technology and innovation minister, and the youth and sports minister before that. He was also the golden boy of his party, Umno, at that time and held the position of youth chief in the party.
It was then downhill after he sort of dropped out of favour with the party leadership. He was given a seat to contest that was a stronghold of the competition, and obviously he lost (although it was by a very narrow margin).
Khairy was then sacked from the party after there were rumours he was going to contest for party president.
This was in 2023, and Khairy eventually made a total career switch by starting a podcast, becoming a radio DJ and now runs a news organisation.
ADSSo he hasn’t really stayed out of the limelight. In fact, he is getting more attention in the public sphere because, without a party to be loyal to, he has free rein to express his opinions.
In the last few weeks or so, it has been rife in the rumour mill that Khairy could be making his way back into politics, more specifically, entering the cabinet.
Yes, he is without a party, but it seems that if he did re-enter politics, it would be via his old party Umno. But of course, these are just rumours.
Khairy himself has denied that he is going back into politics - at least till end of the year.
He said that he is too busy with the commitments and unfinished business that he has now. He also added that he is enjoying what he is doing and isn’t thinking about rejoining politics.
However, if you think about what Khairy has done, it would be impossible not to entertain the idea that he has always kept the idea of rejoining politics at the back of his mind.
When he made the career switch to the media and as a public influencer and commentator, he kept himself relevant and in tune.
Khairy is as popular now, or even more so, as he was before. Not only that, he has managed to attract a newer support base in the form of the youth through his media endeavours.
The fact that the rumour mill is in full force now discussing his political return is proof that he is very relevant and is seen as capable.
This is very interesting to me because I consider Khairy a very progressive politician and national leader. He had been more than a decent performing minister in all of his portfolios when he was in the cabinet.
Even with his commentary and observations from outside of politics, he is seen as progressive and appealing.
Interesting times ahead
My opinion of Nurul Izzah is no different. I think she is a progressive politician, and although she has never been a cabinet minister, she does give the impression that she can perform.
However, unlike Khairy, she has really been out of the limelight and after a few years, people might not know what her stand or manifesto is anymore.
These are interesting developments in the political scene. I want to see how things play out after the resignation of ministers Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, and the switching of parties by minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, because it is obvious that Nurul Izzah and Khairy are now in the mix because of all this.
Tengku Zafrul Abdul AzizBut then it also begs the question of where are the new and young politicians? Nurul Izzah and Khairy, although still considered young politicians (they are in their 40s), have been around for more than a decade.
Does this mean that we don’t have a younger generation who are good enough to administer the country?
Oh well, that can be a topic of discussion for another day. Like I said, it is interesting times when it comes to politics at the moment. - Mkini
ZAN AZLEE is a writer, documentary filmmaker, journalist and academic. Visit fatbidin.com to view his work.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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