KUALA LUMPUR – Is this the end of the road for PKR leaders who are perceived to be previously aligned with party renegade Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali?
With the general election drawing closer, serious questions are now being asked on whether these individuals are deliberately overlooked as candidates, some despite commanding strong support from the grassroots.
Animosity is said to be still running high against Azmin within the PKR bloc, particularly among those aligned to deputy president Rafizi Ramli, who is also incidentally the party’s election director.
Speaking to The Vibes, several party insiders and members are questioning if this enmity against Azmin, as well as the decision by some leaders to take on members of Rafizi’s faction in the recent party election, has influenced the decision-making process on candidates.
They pointed out that there appears to be a similar pattern across a number of federal seats.
This is in spite of the fact that the affected leaders have expressed their loyalty to the party and its leadership following the defection of several PKR leaders led by Azmin during the infamous Sheraton Move in February 2020, they said.
Among the names being mentioned include former vice-president Tian Chua, incumbent lawmakers Maria Chin Abdullah (Petaling Jaya) and Chan Ming Kai (Alor Star), and Alor Gajah hopeful Datuk Ginie Lim Siew Lin.
The fate of incumbent Sg Buloh MP Sivarasa Rasiah is also said to be on the balance, although confirmation of this will only be known when the party announces its full candidate list in an event later tonight.
Attempts to get Rafizi for an immediate response to the allegations raised by party members were futile as of the time of publication.
Clear selection bias, party must respond
Sivarasa, who is a former PKR vice-president, while keeping mum on his own candidacy, said the concerns raised by certain party members are valid and require the response of either the president, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, or his number two, Rafizi.
“Given the nature of the questions, I think this should be directed to the top two leaders. I’m sure they’ll be able to provide a reasonable explanation,” he told The Vibes when contacted today.
Another senior member of the party, who spoke on strict condition of anonymity, said there is clearly a very heavy bias towards the pro-Rafizi faction in the selection of election candidates.
“I still hope that there is time for the party to realise this before the end of the day, when they announce the candidates. This is my appeal to Anwar. It looks as though Rafizi is getting everything his way.
“For me personally, I don’t think Azmin is a factor anymore, but rather those who are now campaigning with (PKR secretary-general) Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail. The case today is more about individuals who went against Rafizi in the party polls.
Despite Anwar being the president, he (Rafizi) is almost like the general occupying the commanding position in PKR today. He’s calling the shots, giving out instructions and answering all things,” he lamented.
The leader said the attempts to eliminate leaders who challenged Rafizi’s camp can also be witnessed in the case of Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin, who has been tasked to take on the almost impossible mission of wresting Bagan Datuk from Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
“The party leadership should try to overcome this negative perception by showing inclusion in candidates,” he said, while warning of the risk of a Pakatan Harapan defeat in the coming general election should candidates with lesser winnability be handpicked over people’s favourites.
In the last PKR internal polls, factionalism between Saifuddin and Rafizi’s camps had threatened to destabilise the political outfit, although it did not lead to as much disharmony as the internal rift that existed during Azmin’s time in the party.
Azmin has since led the majority of his faction out of PKR, including Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin, Datuk Dr Xavier Jayakumar, Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon, and Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah, although some chose to stay true to the party’s cause.
‘Clear the air, members have right to know’
Like Sivarasa, Lim similarly told The Vibes that given the circumstances, the concerns raised by supporters are legitimate and that this would require the leadership’s immediate response.
“Members who are seen as either following Azmin before his defection or going against Rafizi in the recent party election are now being dropped. So, the general feeling on the ground is that the reason for their non-candidacies is due to these factors.”
“I would like to think the party has gone beyond this bitterness, which was why I had faith to remain in PKR. But these are the feelings of the grassroots, and I think the party needs to clear the air. They have the right to know.”
According to a source familiar with the matter, Lim is also being overlooked for the coming general election, with decision-makers within PKR allegedly more than happy to allow DAP to reclaim the Alor Gajah seat, despite Lim having done much of the groundwork.
DAP had contested the constituency three times between 2004 and 2013, losing all of them, before Bersatu’s Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yuson won it in the 2018 election.
A source familiar with the matter said Rafizi had recently informed a WhatsApp group comprising PKR divisional leaders that the seat never belonged to the party, and urged the Alor Gajah division members to not make further demands.
However, members of the division later discovered that DAP is now negotiating with Amanah on potentially giving up the seat to the latter in return for another seat, and questioned if Lim’s previous tie with Azmin had led PKR not to consider negotiating.
“Unfortunately, this is what's happening. There is a group of leaders who are trying to eliminate any remaining former Azmin supporters in the party, although they are no longer with him,” the source said.
In Petaling Jaya, Maria is said to be dropped in favour of a fresh face, with PKR communications director Lee Chean Chun among those shortlisted as frontrunners.
The party is also rumoured to keep Batu incumbent P. Prabakaran as their candidate there ahead of Tian Chua, while Chan, the Alor Star incumbent, has previously revealed that the party has decided to drop him. – The Vibes, October 28, 2022
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