PKR leaders often dismiss factionalism in the party as evidence of a healthy democratic culture but some grassroots members beg to disagree.

A few interviewed at the unveiling of deputy president candidate Rafizi Ramli’s team yesterday said they took such statements with a pinch of salt and were indeed worried that declarations of teams or camps could lead to rifts down the line.

One member said statements, such as “returning the party to its reform agenda”, could be interpreted as being more about the political survival of the leaders involved.

“It’s hard to choose new leadership when leaders are fighting like this. The grassroots are confused,” said Razir Isnin, 34, a member from Pandan, Kuala Lumpur.

“It’s about political survival,” said another member, Rahim Sitih from Hulu Selangor.

“This one is Camp Invoke, and the other is Camp Cartel,” Rahim said, referring to the former being Rafizi’s team and the latter for the team under his rival and incumbent deputy president, Mohamed Azmin Ali.

Rafizi, who founded the data analytics outfit Invoke to survey and predict electoral outcomes in GE14, is an incumbent vice-president but did not contest the May 9 elections because of a court conviction related to his expose on the National Feedlot Corporation.

Invoke was instrumental in sourcing volunteers as polling agents and counting agents for PKR candidates in the general election.

Rahim, who said he supported Rafizi, said others in his team included MPs who did not get any government appointments and thus had no source of income from their political work other than salaries as elected representatives.

“They have no money, so they say they are offering themselves for the party’s struggle.”

Both Rafizi and Azmin are supporting Anwar Ibrahim’s bid for party presidency, Rahim added, so the rivalry was focused on the deputy presidency.

Rafizi unveiled his team of more than 20 elected representatives from PKR yesterday, including heavyweights, such as Nurul Izzah Anwar, Anwar’s daughter. 

His team is using the slogan “Reformasi 20 tahun” (20 years of reformasi) to hark back to the founding of the party two decades ago in the wake of Anwar’s sacking from government and subsequent jailing.

Rafizi said he was going for the deputy president’s post to help PKR uphold its reform ideals and to support Anwar when the latter becomes prime minister.

Anwar is slated to become the eighth prime minister, succeeding Dr Mahathir Mohamad in an agreement between all Pakatan Harapan parties before GE14.

Yesterday, another leader in Rafizi’s team, deputy minister Fuziah Salleh, who is contesting the Wanita chief post, also told party members that “the time to be neutral is over” and that members should declare whether they supported Rafizi or Azmin.

Rafizi also said he wanted to save PKR from a feudal culture and money politics which were against its reformasi principles.

Azmin, now a federal minister, has not announced if he will defend the deputy presidency or go against Anwar his mentor for the president’s post.

Those who have openly declared support for him include incumbent Wanita chief and minister Zuraida Kamaruddin and deputy minister Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin.

Rahim said it was good that both camps supported Anwar for party president, but he worried about the effects of Rafizi’s and Azmin’s rivalry further down the line.

“Divisions are bound to happen. If at the national level there are camps, then at this level there are also small camps,” he said.

A party member from Perak, who only wanted to be known as Kumar, said he agreed that open competition was healthy and a sign of democracy. 

But he predicted a tough fight for the number two posts as he estimated support for Rafizi and Azmin to be about 50-50 each.

Nominations for the party polls open on Sunday. Voting by 800,000 members will be held in stages from September 14 to October 7. – July 30, 2018.