THIS weekend’s PKR national congress may well be the podium of change for the party, which faced several tumultuous experiences after the Sheraton Move in 2020.
Not only was PKR knocked off its pedestal by the power grab, which unseated Pakatan Harapan from federal power, it was also ditched by many long-time members including its then deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali.
Many compromises will have to be made and hatchets buried in order for the party’s new leadership to rid it of factions and divisions.
The three-day congress, starting from tomorrow at Ideal Convention Centre in Shah Alam, must not repeat the mayhem that sullied the last congress in November 2018 when party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Azmin fell out publicly.
The congress had been postponed from last month after the party’s controversial recent elections, the results of which had to be subjected to a forensic audit.
Many party members and key personnel must also accept the reality that Rafizi Ramli is the party’s legitimately elected deputy president and the onus is on them to give him the due respect and cooperation.
PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, an Anwar loyalist who lost to Rafizi in the quest for the party’s No.2 post, has magnanimously paved the way for reconciliation by urging fellow members to respect the party election results.
It is left to be seen if other key party figures will emulate Saifuddin and if fiery speeches will be replaced with earnest and sincere messages of party kinship and reconciliation.
The ball is also in Anwar’s court to ensure that the PKR congress this time around will reflect the party’s commitment to move forward and gain control of lost ground.
Merdeka Center co-founder and programme director Ibrahim Suffian said Anwar’s main priority must be to engineer a common platform for party leaders and members to do well in the upcoming general election.
“This will include persuading Rafizi and his followers that they have to work together with other party members and leaders who have differing views,” he added.
Ibrahim said members and leaders must also be made to understand that PKR’s big victory in GE14 – winning 48 parliamentary seats – was not achieved solely on its own merit but with the support of many others from outside the party.
“Like most parties in Malaysia, PKR can’t perform solo to win elections.
“And so PKR members and leaders have to mend bridges (with other opposition parties) and be humble.”
Ibrahim said the congress must also become a platform where the party strikes a balance between pride, principles and pragmatism.
“They like to talk about principles but at the end of the day, there has to be a sound formula on how to be relevant to the people’s aspirations,’’ he opined.
Party veteran Tian Chua said given that the congress is a pre-general election event, he hopes to see a show of strength and unity.
“We must show the general public that we are mature, rational and stable to help them overcome the current uncertainties,’’ said Chua, a former party vice-president who did not contest this round.
He said the congress is a good platform to drive across the message that the party is capable of leading the opposition parties, which are currently fragmented.
“PKR must convey the message that we are in a position of strong leadership and capable of leading the opposition bloc in battling our common political enemy,’’ he added.
PKR has some tall orders to meet and this can only be achieved if the dark shadows of the past are buried alongside the many betrayals and defections.
The party had risen from the ashes in the past. Will it be able to do it again?
The thrashing it received in 2020 and subsequently in several state elections must open its members’ and leaders’ eyes to the fact that power is temporary and no one is indispensable.
With GE15 around the corner, the party still has much to do to regain the support of many who voted for them in the last general election but ended up disappointed and disillusioned instead.
Like Ibrahim said, there is a need to be humble and the congress is the best platform for Anwar to convey this need to all party leaders and members.
