Prior to entering politics, Nurul Izzah earned her master's degree from the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University studying International Relations specializing in Southeast Asia Studies. Her bachelor's degree was in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the Universiti Tenaga Nasional where she graduated from in 2003, two days after her father, Anwar Ibrahim, was released from six years imprisonment.
Career
Nurul Izzah's political career began with the creation of the People's Justice Party in 1999 where she played a vital role in its establishment and, up until December 2018, was on her second term as highest ranking Vice President Elect, as well as the party's Election Director – a post she holds jointly with Saifuddin Nasution Ismail. On 17 December 2018, Nurul Izzah announced her resignation as the party's vice president as well as chair of its Penang chapter, but retains her post as MP of Permatang Pauh. Nurul Izzah is the founding member for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Caucus; and Women's Caucus respectively. She also holds the position of Honorary Treasurer on behalf of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Malaysia. She has also moved the Parliamentary Bill in Malaysia's Parliament to Revoke Emergency Declarations in the country, including the eventual abolishment of the Internal Security Act – all of which were adopted by the Prime Minister six months later. Granted, other laws were then re-introduced, in line with Malaysia's semi-autocratic regime. Nurul Izzah is also a Board of Director for the Centre of Reform, Democracy and Social Initiatives and has founded Akademi Manusiawi, a training centre for future activists and politicians. Nurul Izzah has worked with a number of agencies and institutes on advocacy work, among them are the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia, Suara Rakyat Malaysia, Women Leaders International Forum and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. She has in the past advocated on behalf of Malaysian political prisoners and Malaysian human rights movements at the international level, most noted being an intervention in the main session at the 55th Commission on Human Rights, Geneva. Nurul Izzah also actively contributes to the Malay publication Sinar – continuously educating the electorate with positive thoughts on reform.
Personal life
Nurul Izzah married Raja Ahmad Shahrir on 9 May 2003, and has two children together, namely Safiyah and Harith. They were officially divorced by the Syariah High Court in January 2015.
Election
In the 2008 general election, Nurul Izzah contested the seat of Lembah Pantai in Kuala Lumpur. There was speculation that she ran for the seat with the intention of handing it over to her father, who was disqualified from running for office until April 2008, though she quickly rejected such claims. The seat was defended by three-term incumbent Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who was Minister for Women, Family and Community Development in the Barisan Nasional government. Initial reports suggested that Shahrizat would retain the seat, as she had been a popular minister, and in the 2004 election retained her seat with a majority of 15,288. However, on polling day, Nurul Izzah won 21,728 votes to Shahrizat's 18,833, and was elected as the new MP for Lembah Pantai. The defeat of the powerful three-term incumbent by a new face was one of the many surprises in the 2008 election, which saw significant losses of parliamentary seats by the ruling party. When her father returned to electoral politics he did so by replacing his wife and Nurul Izzah's mother, Wan Azizah, in a by-election for the Penang-based seat of Permatang Pauh. In November 2010, Nurul Izzah was elected one of the vice-presidents of Parti Keadilan Rakyat. She was narrowly returned to Parliament in the 2013 election. The governing Barisan Nasional coalition had targeted her by fielding the incumbent Federal Territories Minister Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin as its candidate against her in a high-profile campaign. In November 2015, Princess Jacel Kiram and Nurul Izzah posted a photo demanding Malaysian Prime MinisterNajib Razak to free opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim which was received negatively in the media, prompting Nurul Izzah to apologize. In May 2018, Nurul Izzah contested for the parliamentary seat of Permatang Pauh in Pulau Pinang and won. She is now the new MP for Permatang Pauh.
