KUALA LUMPUR – Having endured a rough past couple of years, PKR may now be looking at re-strategising the party ahead of the all-important 15th general election due in less than two years.
While the nature of the move is yet unknown, discussions are expected to get underway as early as the beginning of next year.
According to PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil, the matter ought to be deliberated no later than soon after the Sarawak election, which will be held tomorrow.
“We must remember PKR has not had the opportunity to restructure the leadership after the Sheraton Move in March 2020,” he told The Vibes yesterday.
“I think after the Melaka and Sarawak elections conclude, the leadership will need to seriously consider how we must re-strategise because this is about the future of the party.”
Fahmi stopped short of elaborating on the strategy, but ruled out the possibility and need for change among the top echelons of the leadership.
“Not at this point,” he said, when asked by The Vibes about the matter.
While not confirming details, a source familiar with the matter said PKR is considering, among others, to hold its party election soon so as to cement the leadership’s position and party direction amid dissenting voices within.
“They want the polls to be over and done with, so they can settle any infighting once and for all and those in charge can do their work,” the source said.
PKR was supposed to hold its election by November this year following the end of the 2018-2021 term for office-bearers in its central leadership council and branch committees, but has postponed it to no later than May 2023.
Issue upon issue dogging party
The party has been blighted with issues since the Sheraton Move last year, which saw a number of its top leaders defecting, led by former deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
This resulted in the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, which included PKR, and dashed any chance of party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim becoming the prime minister.
While some from Azmin’s camp chose to remain in PKR, it has left a largely factionalised atmosphere within the party, though it is understood that these undercurrents have been contained.
In September last year, Anwar had come under pressure after failing to deliver on his claim of having a strong, formidable, and convincing majority, which was supposedly based on the support of several “Malay-Muslim MPs” to form a new government.
This was when grumblings of dissatisfaction within PH began to surface, with certain quarters allegedly calling for a change in the coalition’s leadership.
The issue deepened in the recently concluded Melaka election when PH suffered a humiliating defeat, winning only five seats, none of which came from PKR.
Finger-pointing began soon after, with certain members openly urging Anwar to step down as PH chairman. DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke Siew Fook publicly stated that the coalition should end its fixation on having Anwar as its sole prime minister candidate.
The recent seat negotiations for the Sarawak election also did not help matters. A visibly frustrated Anwar even told a press conference that other PH components are leaving the unwinnable seats to PKR.
PH tested but not broken
Fahmi said that while seat negotiations took into account various factors, the seats should have been distributed more fairly among the PH components.
“It’s in the interest of all parties to look at the kind of seats we want to contest, and share the responsibility and success together.”
“A lot of this has to do with the dynamics of leadership. Not just with this Sarawak election, but how we build on the coalition going forward.”
Acknowledging calls for the party to fly solo, including a suggestion by Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim for PKR to head into the next general election alone, Fahmi said these are personal opinions that must be respected.
“We have to take in all these opinions and voices to really understand where we need to go and what we need to fix,” he said.
He however, dismissed suggestions of things possibly boiling over in PH, saying that the clashes and differences of opinion have only made the coalition stronger.
“We have a very good history of working together for not just two or three years, but for the last two, three decades,” he said.
“This relationship is not easily broken, but it is constantly tested. I believe in PH.” – The Vibes, December 17, 2021
