ANWAR Ibrahim should contest in one of the parliamentary seats that PKR lost due to the Sheraton Move defections in February 2020 to send a strong message to traitors, said analysts. 

They identified three particular seats in the Klang Valley - Gombak, Ampang and Bandar Tun Razak - saying that these seats were traditionally PKR’s and had been held by senior leaders before they deserted the party.

They added that by reclaiming one of these seats, Anwar would be sending a clear message that traitors would not be tolerated. 

They said this as speculation continued that Anwar would not defend his Port Dickson seat in the coming general election. 

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia academic Dr Mazlan Ali said that the three seats in the Klang Valley area were the most suitable seats for Anwar as most of the voters were well equipped with political knowledge, although the majority might be fence-sitters. 

“In these urban areas, most of the people have knowledge about politics and they do keep track of current issues. They might be fence-sitters but they do take issues such as corruption and abuse of power, and good governance seriously. 

“These people were also aware of the mistakes done by PH but this time, several current issues and the anti-party-hopping law may attract them. I think Anwar can choose from these three seats. 

“It is up to him to choose who he wants to go against,” he added. 

The MP for Gombak is currently Azmin Ali, Anwar’s one-time protege and former PKR deputy president. 

Azmin was the mastermind behind the defection of 10 PKR MPs during the Sheraton Move, which saw the collapse of the PH government. Azmin and his group then joined Bersatu. 

Ampang is held by Zuraida Kamaruddin, another formerly prominent figure in PKR and among the early women to join the party when it was established. 

She won the parliamentary seat in 2008, retaining the seat again in 2013 and 2018. She has since left Bersatu to become Parti Bangsa Malaysia president-designate. 

Kamaruddin Jaafar, the MP for Bandar Tun Razak, was also one of PKR’s senior party members and was close to Anwar. 

Kamaruddin was an Umno man when Anwar was the deputy prime minister for the Malay nationalist party. He left to join PAS following Anwar’s sacking from Umno, before joining PKR. 

The other PKR MPs who left the party during the Sheraton Move were Saifuddin Abdullah (Indera Mahkota), Baru Bian (Selangau), Mansor Othman (Nibong Tebal), Rashid Hasnon (Batu Pahat), Dr Santhara Kumar (Segamat), Ali Biju (Saratok), Willie Mongin (Puncak Borneo), and Jonathan Yasin (Ranau). 

Taking on Azmin or Zuraida? 

Veteran political author Sayuti Omar believes that Anwar should go up against Zuraida in Ampang rather than Azmin in Gombak. 

He said although Azmin was the brains behind the infamous Sheraton Move, contesting against Zuraida would be Anwar’s best strategy. 

“Azmin is Anwar’s protege. This is his student. Azmin can be called up anytime to rejoin PKR and Azmin’s Machiavellianism will not deter him from joining PKR again should his political career be facing a cliff edge. 

“So, the best strategy for Anwar is to contest against Zuraida. In fact, the Malays there are not as conservative as those in the east coast or in Johor. In Ampang, they are more open-minded,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Universiti Malaya’s Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi felt that Anwar should face Azmin instead, which would send a clear message to PKR members that the party was serious in tackling party-hopping. 

The academic said Anwar must show that he is serious in punishing those who betrayed the party, especially Azmin who caused the fall of PH. 

“For me, he has to go up against Azmin. One is because he is the mastermind behind the Sheraton Move, secondly this will show party members that PKR will not tolerate traitors. 

“I don’t think Ampang or Bandar Tun Razak is Anwar’s standard. Plus, the only one who can take down Azmin is Anwar, no one else,” he said. 

Last week, Anwar said that he was not afraid of defending his Port Dickson seat, a Malay-majority constituency, despite claims that he would ditch the seat for an easier one. 

Johor Perikatan Nasional exco member Rashid Hasnoon had then said that news of Anwar contesting in Ampang showed that the former deputy prime minister was not confident of retaining his Malay-majority seat in Port Dickson. 

He questioned Anwar for wanting to contest in Ampang, which was a mixed area with 51% of Malay voters and 32% of Chinese voters. 

Let party decide 

Senior party member G. Manivanan said that although there seemed to be some truth in Anwar contesting in Selangor, the matter should be left to the party’s election committee for further consideration. 

He added that the matter was still up for discussion and so far, no decision had been made. 

“I have my view on this but as a party member, I do not think it is right for me to say which seat my president should contest in. Not until he comes out with his own statement. 

“The matter is still being discussed and the committee has yet to come up with a final answer. The president and the deputy will also look into this before finalising all the names.” 

The former Kapar MP, however, agreed that a clear message should be sent to party-hoppers, especially those who left PKR in 2020. 

“I agree that we should show that we are serious. We cannot take this matter lightly and that is also why I think the president wants to contest in the seats mentioned above, especially in the Klang Valley,” he said. – October 2, 2022.