MANY did not even realise that Amanah held its congress and elections last weekend. Granted, it was a subdued affair, with the status quo maintained and “family rivalry” managed quite well.

The PKR gathering, on the other hand, saw a walkout, name-calling, booing, peace- and deal-making, the threat of a parallel event being held, and potshots taken through the media. And, the 20-year-old party doesn’t even have polls this year.

Even Barisan Nasional, with all its warlord politics, has not engaged in an altercation as elaborate or protracted as the on-off Anwar Ibrahim-Mohamed Azmin Ali spat. MCA and Umno never fully reunited their Teams A and B, but the losing side usually pipes down the rhetoric, at least saving it for party polls. Though BN suffered a record election defeat last year, its parties stayed largely intact, save for the occasional hint at the usual undercurrents.

Azmin had an opportunity to unseat Anwar before. He also had a chance to leave PKR and join another party. But he remained loyal through the years, without so much as an exco position up till 2014. And that, too, was by chance, thanks to the failure of the widely panned “Kajang Move”.

Even when he was at his perceived strongest, defying all odds to retain the PKR No. 2 post, Azmin did not make any real move against the president. Through both good and bad times, with sodomy allegations launched here and there, his relationship with Anwar was cordial.

So why now? What is the urgency? And to what end?

With the prime minister power transition expected to happen next year or so, both men would have calculated and recalculated their moves.

It would be in the PM-in-waiting’s best interest to have a firm grip on his own party before playing the role of de facto leader of all four Pakatan Harapan components. At the moment, Anwar appears to have the edge. Most of the PKR leadership seems to stand with him, and he has won over a few formerly staunch supporters of his deputy.

But Azmin’s influence should not be written off. He has strong support from a large portion of PKR Youth and what looks to be the majority of the Women’s wing, as well as a few key leaders.

In the last 20 years, many party leaders have shared the stage with Anwar and Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, and left. One was the late Irene Fernandez. Some went on to accept government-linked appointments, like Chandra Muzaffar. There were those who rejoined their former parties, such as N. Gobalakrishan. Others party-hopped more than once, like Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor and Zaid Ibrahim.

But some like Azmin and his close allies Chua Tian Chang, Zuraida Kamaruddin and Khalid Jaafar have stayed on, pledging allegiance to PKR – which means they should abide by the rules of the party and its leaders’ decisions.

So why the resistance to Anwar, or more accurately, the lack of enthusiasm for his rise to the top job?

Perhaps Chua, better known as Tian Chua, captured the gist of it in his speech as he stood alone facing a jeering crowd of the president’s supporters.

Being obsessed was what he cautioned against, warning of the dangers if the whole party continues to focus almost exclusively on Anwar becoming the eighth PM.

There is plenty more to be done to stabilise the economy, create jobs, reform institutions, improve the education system – basically make Malaysia a competitive country that is internationally respected once more.

Azmin and Anwar’s factions are smack in the middle of that change. Whoever becomes PM next, and whenever that happens, both leaders and their respective teams have an important role to play.

It would be unthinkable for Anwar, as PM, to leave his deputy and the latter’s backers out in the cold. Therefore, there is no good reason for him to do so now.

To reconcile a nation, or a coalition, Anwar and Azmin need to bury the hatchet deep, and quickly. – December 11, 2019.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.