That the coalition has remained intact is in no small part due to Wan Azizah.

CNN: A Woman of Grace

Mr Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Ismail, has started a new party, the National Justice Party.

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Marina Yusoff, vice president of Keadilan, the party led by An-war's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

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But whether Dr Wan Azizah's party can bridge the gap between rival opposition groups remains to be seen.

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Practically the only exception is Dr. Azizah al-Hibr, a woman who has espoused the creation of shariah courts in the United States.

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Wan Azizah's significance, however, goes beyond just being a key opposition figure.

CNN: A Woman of Grace

In Malaysia, Wan Azizah Ismail leads a party formed after the jailing of her husband, Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy prime minister.

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What future then for Dr Wan Azizah, the wife of Anwar Ibrahim, formerly Malaysia's deputy prime minister and now its most famous convict?

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While Anwar's star was rising, Wan Azizah stayed in the background.

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In September last year, Anwar was controversially sacked from his government and party posts, and Wan Azizah was rudely thrust into the center of national attention.

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In the elections, Keadilan did not fare as well as hoped: It got just five parliamentary seats (one of them won by Wan Azizah in Anwar's old constituency of Permatang Pauh).

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If Azizah's roadtrips seem oddly familiar, there's good reason.

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Azizah plans twice-a-week speeches for the next two months.

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She has also extended a public podium to Wan Azizah Ismail, who--shades of the young Cory--is struggling to fill the political shoes of her jailed husband, Malaysia's ex-Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

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Large crowds have turned up to hear Wan Azizah Ismail, Mr Anwar's wife, in the belief that she will stand in the general election, possibly in Dr Mahathir's own constituency in the state of Kedah.

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The person Anwar has entrusted with that task, Wan Azizah, has until now won admirers more for her kindness and loyalty--even her husband's enemies refer to her as the "Angel"--than for her skills as a brawler.

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For Azizah, the road is less certain.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia