ANWAR Ibrahim’s appeal as the leader of the opposition is waning and it is high time the coalition groom new leaders to take over, analysts said.

They told The Malaysian Insight that three consecutive losses in state elections are a clear rebuke to the opposition leader who no longer identify.

Fractures within the opposition parties also make it seem that Anwar is incapable of uniting all of them under his “big tent” approach.

James Chin of University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute said while leaders are allowed to make mistakes, but Anwar has screwed up one too many times.

“He (Anwar) has led the opposition in three states and he lost badly,” Chin told The Malaysian Insight.

“PKR has to go through a period of self reflection and they must think carefully whether they want Anwar to lead them to the next general election.

“If Pakatan Harapan selects Anwar as their leader and prime minister-in-waiting for the next general election, PH will definitely lose.”

At the Malacca state election last November, after much debate on which flag to use, PH eventually settled on the coalition’s logo.

Even so, it only won five out of a total of 21 seats, while Barisan Nasional won 21 and Perikatan Nasional 2.

In GE14, PH won 15 seats in Malacca while Barisan Nasional (BN) won 13.

One month later in Sarawak, the PKR president led his party to a resounding loss, losing all 28 seats it contested.

DAP who contested in 24 seats only won two, while Amanah, like PKR, contested in 28 seats but lost all.

This is in severe contrast to how it performed at the 2018 general election where PH won 10 parliamentary seats, DAP (seven) and PKR (three).

Finally in Johor, PKR decided to use its logo following the beating it took in Malacca. DAP and Amanah, however, continued to use the coalition’s logo.

It was a gamble that PKR lost yet again as it only won one out of 20 seats it contested in. DAP won 10, Amanah also won only one seat.

Chin said Anwar’s decision to use the PKR logo sent a signal that the opposition was not united.

“When he decided that PKR should use their own logo in Johor that was a major mistake because you are sending a signal that PH is not united, it’s just in name only.

“It’s common sense that voters don’t like disunited opposition. You cannot claim to be the leader of the opposition coalition and not want to use the coalition’s logo,” he said.

International Islamic University of Malaysia’s Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar also pointed out that PKR seemed to be running a completely different campaign compared to the other opposition parties.

“He seems to have lost some respect within the coalition. Specifically, his decisions to take former Umno leaders as PH’s candidates in Malacca and to use PKR’s logo in Johor did not go well with other members in the coalition.

“It seemed like PKR was running a different campaign than DAP and Amanah.”

‘Reformasi’ no longer resonates

Ilham Centre executive director Hisommudin Bakar said Anwar and PH need to move away from the “reformasi” agenda which is stale.

“Reformasi is stale. It needs to be revamped to today’s context,” he said.

“The younger generation is not those who understand the ‘reformasi’ era. They are not the ones who demonstrated when Anwar was booted out of government in 1998.

“Understanding this is important, so that Anwar can attract their interest and vote for PH.”

Tunku Mohar added that bread and butter issues are what matters most to voters now, not “reformasi”

“His ‘reformasi’ narrative seemed to be something of the past, and lacks relevance at a time when the concerns are bread-and-butter issues.”

Hisommudin also drew parallels between convicted former prime minister Najib Razak and Anwar, specifically in the way that they communicate to voters.

Anwar, he said, likes using outdated jargon, while Najib has harnessed the power of social media which propelled him from “zero to hero”.

“To stay relevant, his communication must be similar to the language used by the people.

“Look at Najib, he uses simple language and he highlights issues plaguing the people. So much so that he built a new narrative for himself, away from all the negativity.

“Anwar on the other hand is limited in his communication skills. He uses jargon that many don’t use,” he said.

Time to retire

While all three analysts agreed that it is time for older leaders such as Anwar to retire, they however, admitted that the lure of power is hard to resist.

“It is absolutely time for the leaders to retire. But the problem is that Malaysian political leaders, because of how the party is structured, can stay on for donkey years,” Chin said.

“Even if they retire, they want to influence the party. This is a bad political culture, once you get into power, you don’t want to step down willingly. This is not only the opposition, but the government leaders as well.”

Tunku Mohar also agreed, but a lack of a succession plan in PKR will make it hard.

“The problem with PKR is that there’s no clear succession plan.

“There is no leader that can probably take over the leadership of PKR yet. For DAP, probably Anthony Loke looks prominent.”

It would, however, not be practical for all veteran leaders to step down at the same time, Hisommudin said.

“Their leadership is still needed. The old leadership needs to forge a new path so that they can remain relevant and lead their respective parties.”

There are also no new leaders waiting in the wings, not while they are in the shadows of the old leaders, he added. – March 15, 2022.