KUALA LUMPUR (Politics Now!) - As Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's lustre starts to fade, attention is turning to a "leadership succession plan" in his PKR party.
But who will succeed Anwar - his deputy Rafizi Ramli, who is still viewed as a greenhorn by many? Highly unlikely, say insiders who are long familiar with Anwar's style. Knowing him, they say, Anwar will only make way for his daughter Nurul Izzah and is probably already preparing the way for her to replace Rafizi.
Yet Nurul could not even defend Anwar's Permatang Pauh stronghold during the 2022 general election - how can she lead the fractious and talent-scarce PKR to great heights? Can she hammer and mould PKR into a party capable and worthy of leading Malaysia - or let it deteriorate further from its current status of being the "joke" in Anwar's unity government, the most haphazard and weakest party that has ever ruled the country, full of nonsensical notions, plots and 'confused' leaders.
"I think most Malaysians already know the answer to that. Make no mistake, Nurul has her dad's charisma but aura and likeability are not enough even though she is better educated, smarter and more intelligent than Anwar," a political analyst told Politics Now!
PARTY OF NEPOTISM?
Another analyst Wong Chin Huat warned that if Anwar chose nepotism instead of professionalism, the consequences for PKR and its survivability could be dire.
“What plagues so many Malaysian parties – from Umno, MCA, chose nepotism DAP to PKR – is the leader’s fear that allowing a popular heir apparent to emerge is akin to signing his (own) death warrant,” he told Free Malaysia Today.
“That’s why former prime minister Mahathir (Mohamad) had four deputies during his (initial) 22 years and still could not tolerate Anwar in his (second stint of) 22 months,” he said.
“To keep peace in the party, the political life of a leader should be tied to their ability to deliver electoral victory, not their control of party machinery.
“Anointing an heir apparent who has no electoral victory to boast but only familial lineage and some personal charisma to attract voters is more likely to lead to infighting,” said Wong.
In GE 15 in 2022, PKR suffered a loss of 18 parliamentary seats, from the 49 it held previously. Significantly, the party lost the Permatang Pauh constituency, long considered a stronghold of Anwar’s family.
The party also had a poor outing in last year’s six state elections, winning only 27 of the 58 seats it contested.
PKR - FINALLY IN POWER BUT ALREADY AT DEATH'S DOOR?
Political watchers have also opined any leader PKR puts forward must be someone who can regain the confidence and support of the Malays better than Anwar currently can.
“PKR’s succession plan is important for the party and Pakatan Harapan as a whole. The leader of PH must come from PKR,”said Jeniri Amir, a fellow of the Council of Professors.
But Jeniri did not say why the Pakatan Harapan coalition which comprise the 3 key parties of PKR, DAP and Amanah must fall into a power-sharing pattern similar to the Umno-BN, which led the country for over 6 decades, where one party was dominant.
However he did say it was not realistic to expect the DAP, the strongest party in the Harapan coalition with the most seats in Parliament, or Amanah to be able to command the support of the majority of voters.
“Anwar will be almost 80 by the time he finishes his term (end 2027). The party needs rejuvenation, and the recent election results are proof of this.
“The party needs to look beyond Anwar,” said Jeniri.
Written by Stan Lee, Politics Now!
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