LATELY considered a weak link in Pakatan Harapan (PH), PKR’s upcoming elections will be scrutinised to see if the party that champions government reforms will be able to reform itself.

As the party heads into elections, it should look at strategies to take it beyond its past achievements, the greatest of which is perhaps galvanising the opposition over the years since its founding in 1998, to finally defeat Barisan Nasional in 2018, said political analysts.

“Its biggest contribution to Malaysian politics is its ability to spark the opposition’s momentum,” said Malay politics observer Prof Awang Azman Awang Pawi.

Beginning as Keadilan after the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim as deputy prime minister and trial for sodomy and corruption, which many believed to be political persecution, PKR’s “Reformasi” call has provided the momentum that saw the opposition slowly chip away at BN support in successive general elections.

Because of it, the opposition was able to change governments in Terengganu in 1999 and then Perak, Penang and Selangor in 2008, said Awang Azman, a Malay studies lecturer at Universiti Malaya.

“PKR has been instrumental in making Malaysian politics into a two-party or two-coalition system in the future,” he said.

Awang Azman was responding to criticism that PKR was weighing down PH and needed a drastic change in its leadership after its poor performance in the Malacca, Sarawak and Johor elections recently.

In the three elections, which were held within six months, PKR only managed to win one seat, Bukit Batu in Johor. It defended the seat by just 137 votes.

In Malacca and again in Johor, the party was criticised for repeating the “mistake” of insisting on using its own logo, while leaving partners DAP and Amanah to use PH’s logo.

In Sarawak, PKR lost all the 28 seats it contested. It also used its own logo in the elections, but so did DAP and Amanah, after all three parties agreed that doing so would maximise their chances of winning votes in the east Malaysian state.

Despite these shortcomings, PKR does have an important legacy in continuing attempts by opposition parties, such as DAP, to push for multiracialism in Malaysian politics, said International Islamic University of Malaysia’s Lau Zhe Wei, adding that PKR reignited the debate on the need for multiracial parties in Malaysia.

“Although the concept of multiracial parties is not new, PKR gave it new life when it came into the political scene in the late 90s.

“This has driven other parties such as DAP, PAS, Amanah and Sabah-based Warisan to expand and venture into multiracial party system rather than rely on a single race,” said Lau.

And although still Malay-dominated, Lau said PKR is able to use its Malay leadership to provide the middle ground for DAP and PAS to come together. This is reference to the now-defunct Pakatan Rakyat coalition in 2008.

“This was the starting point, when for the first time they were able to deny BN its two-thirds majority in Parliament in 2008,” said Lau.

PKR’s future

After what has happened in the last three state polls, PKR must use the opportunity to renew itself with this year’s party elections, said Lau.

And that renewal could come from the likes of former Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli and former student activist Adam Adli who are contesting in the party elections.

Rafizi, an appointed party vice-president, is going for the deputy president’s post against secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, while Adam said he will vie for the youth chief position.

“This should enliven the party elections this year,” said Lau.

As for the president’s post, Lau said that Anwar is still a popular figure within the party and it is natural that nobody would challenge him.

“Even (ex-deputy) Mohd Azmin Ali did not challenge him for the presidency, I do not see any others as capable of doing so.

“Like it or not, he is still the iconic figure for PKR. Even during the Azmin era, his people still acknowledged Anwar as the highest leader in public.

“Challenging Anwar is akin to starting a revolt in the party and nobody can afford to do it. Even if you manage to win the war, the party will be a fractured, war-torn party. It won’t be worth it,” said Lau.

PKR has only ever had two presidents, Anwar and his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who led the party in his stead while he was in prison.

Beyond the elections, Awang Azman said that PKR needs to renew its party with fresh ideas and policies.

“Take the issue of wages for instance. It should move to pushing for a living wage rather than a minimum wage.

“Other matters PKR should prioritise is cost of living, developing the agriculture and food industry and other social welfare matters,” said Awang Azman.

PKR will have its party elections this year with division nominations to be held from April 8 to 10 at state offices while nominations for the central leadership committee (MPP) will be on April 11 at the party headquarters. The nomination papers can be filed online or physically.

Normal polling for the party elections will be held from May 13 to 17 while online voting will be done from May 18 to 20.

The results for the general election will be announced at the PKR congress on June 25. – April 8, 2022.