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PKR election results ‘not a loss of faith in Anwar’, says analyst

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The victory of Rafizi Ramli and his allies is viewed as showing that members want to strengthen the party’s chances at the general election.

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Free Malaysia Today
The PKR elections show that the party is trying to remain competitive for the next general election, says an analyst. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:
The results of PKR’s elections do not mean that members have lost faith in party leader Anwar Ibrahim, but rather that the members were looking to Rafizi Ramli to bring about fundamental change, said an analyst.

James Chin of the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute said the victories of Rafizi Ramli and those closely aligned with him indicate that the grassroots want a radical transformation in the party, with hopes of improving the party’s chances at the next general election.

Preliminary results from PKR’s elections on Sunday showed that Rafizi and those aligned with him, such as Tanjung Malim MP Chang Lih Kang, Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Negeri Sembilan menteri besar Aminuddin Harun, have succeeded in taking top positions.

However, those known to be more closely aligned with Anwar were defeated, such as Sungai Petani MP Johari Abdul and PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution.

Chin said the results showed that the party was trying to remain competitive for the general election (GE15). “They are looking to Rafizi to radically transform the party, so that they will do better in GE15,” Chin told FMT.

Another analyst Jeniri Amir also said the PKR grassroots were confident in Rafizi’s ability as a leader but added that party members lacked confidence in Anwar.

“They want the party to go beyond Anwar, because in a way, he is almost over the hill already. So they need somebody who can step into his shoes when he leaves the political arena,” Jeniri said.

He said party members felt Rafizi could help revive the party following the “Sheraton Move” in which a few PKR leaders left to support Perikatan Nasional, causing the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government.

Jeniri urged Anwar and PKR’s top leadership to be open to strategies and opinions put forward by newly elected leaders.

He said: “Anwar knows how to interpret the meaning of the outcome of this election. He knows that PKR needs meaningful and fundamental reforms to move forward” as the party’s performance in four state elections did not augur well for PKR.

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