It doesn’t take a doctoral thesis on the sociology of cronyism and nepotism to recognise that Nurul Izzah’s recent victory as Deputy President of PKR was heavily influenced by her status as the daughter of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the party’s President.
While Nurul enjoys popularity, when it comes to political acumen and strategic capability, she is nowhere near the calibre of Rafizi Ramli—the former Deputy President who has long been regarded as the party’s analytical powerhouse and policy visionary.
Had the delegates to the party election been better schooled in rejecting favouritism and nepotism, the outcome might have been very different. In such a scenario, it’s likely Nurul would have lost to Rafizi.
Anwar may argue that, unlike his wife who was appointed as an advisor, Nurul was elected and therefore her win does not constitute nepotism. But this is a simplistic argument—akin to, as a Tamil proverb says, trying to hide a pumpkin under a heap of cooked rice. The influence of family ties in her victory is too obvious to ignore.
On a level playing field, Nurul had little chance against Rafizi, who is widely respected for his inclusive leadership style and strategic depth. That Rafizi was reduced to political irrelevance in this contest—despite his instrumental role in building PKR and sustaining the reformasi movement—speaks volumes about the rot within.
Let us not forget that it was Rafizi and others like him who injected the reformasi movement with real momentum, shaping it into the political force that eventually brought PKR to power. This betrayal of meritocracy in favour of dynastic preference not only diminishes Rafizi’s contributions, it tarnishes the very ideals reformasi was meant to uphold.
Criticising nepotism does not mean dismissing Nurul’s efforts, particularly her resilience during the period when Anwar was incarcerated on dubious charges. She played a symbolic role. But it would have been wiser—and more credible—for her to defend her vice-presidency, rather than vault straight to the deputy presidency under such controversial circumstances.
Regrettably, Anwar seems to lack the patience to implement a non-partisan and methodical leadership transition. This impatience has fractured internal party morale and further eroded the party’s claim to reformist ideals.
One must now ask: how can reformasi be re-engineered within PKR when nepotism overshadows every leadership decision? The spirit of reformasi has been replaced with something else entirely—perhaps more accurately described as reformati, a parody of its original promise.
Will Rafizi remain in PKR after this humiliation? It’s unclear. His public defeat, engineered not by a better candidate but by the entrenched forces of favouritism, may be too bitter to swallow. Time may heal political wounds, but not when the blow was so deliberately inflicted.
Yet, beyond the party’s internal politics, a greater audience awaits Rafizi. His intellect, his conviction, and his vision for a better Malaysia remain needed more than ever. Though temporarily sidelined, his journey is far from over.
The question is no longer whether PKR can carry the torch of reform—it is whether that torch now needs to be passed to new hands outside the shadow of dynastic politics.
Source : Murray Hunter
Even the Puteri Reformasi can’t save PKR now
Nurul Izzah Anwar defeated Rafizi Ramli in a vote for the deputy president’s position in Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). It was a well publicised fight for the position, on major news portals all week. Yet Nurul, according to CAN Asia was only able to garner 9,808 votes out of 30,000 voters. Rafizi’s vote hasn’t been officially released at this time. There are reports Rafizi received 3,866. By the look of it, more than half the eligible voters in this major contest, didn’t even turn out to vote.
A 42.7% turnout to vote
But congratulations Nurul, you have a major job ahead of you. As deputy president, Nurul will be PKR election director, under current PKR rules. There are three elections coming up under her management. First will be the Sabah state election, where PKR has 2 seats out of 73. Then comes Melaka where PKR has no seats, and then Johor, where PKR has 1 out of 56 seats.
Then come 2027, Nurul has the general election ahead of her. PKR currently holds 31 seats, a far cry from the 40+ seats the party had a decade ago.
Anwar Ibrahim may have to move back to his old seat of Pematang Puah to even stay in parliament. Dr Zaliha Mustafa’s seat of Sekijang is in danger, it’s going to be 50-50 for Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, and Chang Lih Kang risks losing his seat to Bersatu. Fahmi Fadzil, the no. 1 winner on the central committee will have a tough fight in Nurul’s old seat of Lembah Pantai, which she abandoned for Pematang Puah that she lost. Deputy minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir is in danger down in Johor Bahru, and Ramanan Ramakrishnan could well lose his seat in Sungai Buloh.
Then, another problem is finding a seat for Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Fauziah Salleh, and Sarawathy Kandasami. There are senators with limited terms, there political futures are all at stake.
This will be so high-stakes, the future of her father’s tenure as prime minister on the line.
PKR risks losing enough seats to make the party irrelevant after the next election. It’s an understatement to say the job is really ahead of her. With Rafizi gone, PKR’s strategist is gone. Election strategy is all in the family now.
The vote for Nurul shows there is a lot of apathy in PKR now, based upon the figures that were given. To mobilise PKR for 4 elections will be a big task.
Source : Murray Hunter
PKR Sec-Gen Fuziah Salleh’s attitude to complaint about PKR voting system raises suspicions
PKR’s Secretary General Fuziah Salleh’s roughshod remarks over Rafizi Ramli’s complaint about the new PKR e-voting system on the ADIL app raises suspicions. With more than 280 complaints already received from PKR members about the party divisional elections, voting integrity is a sensitive issue that requires a thorough explanation.
Zaliha Mustafa partisan campaign comments but trusted with giving an unbiased result.
Its very important to have transparancy concerning People Media Sdn Bhd, the provider of the e-voting system. Not just who owns the company, but who is responsible for managing the e-voting software. Has People Media allowed scrutineers into the computer room to observe the computer vote count?
PKR has now appointed a new vendor on the e-voting system that is already the subject to complaints made two weeks ago. Fuziah saying this is not an issue raises suspicions about voting integrity.
This is not the first time there have been complaints about e-voting systems, and the PKR office holders are dismissing queries and complaints just like they are hiding something. This scenario has been seen many times before, where it’s been later found such queries and complaints had substance.
Likewise, PKR’s Central Election Committee (JPP) chairman Dr Zaliha Mustafa dismissed Rafizi Ramli’s query outright. She attacked Rafizi’s complaint as just opinion.
The only safe way to conduct such an important election, such as party leadership is by paper voting. These e-voting systems have always led to suspicions and accusations. Approximately 9,000 delegates will vote in person and 20,000 online. With blockchain technology, its like a ‘blackbox’ no one outside the programmers really understand.
One of the possible effects will be a bias towards Nurual Izzah because people feel she will be the winner – this is the ‘bandstand effect’. Secondly, some believe that the ADIL app will allow the party leadership will know how they voted, and thus will vote for Nurul for safety.
Source : Murray Hunter
PKR could be the BIG loser in GE16
Anwar Ibrahim’s visit with his entourage to meet with Russian President Putin in the Kremlin had the optics of the jago kampong (village hero) coming to town. This visit was intended to be perceived as one stateman meeting another. However, the meeting just exposed Anwar’s ignorance of history and culture, contrary to the mythology of Anwar being a learned man. One could clearly see the bemusement of Putin on his face.
Anwar’s recent interview with hardline journalist Mary Ann Jolley on Al Jazeera exposed him as a tyrant in the same class as some of the most notable despots of the region over the last century. One could see Anwar’s anger rise when he got caught in a ‘got you’ moment during the interview, where he replied to Mary Ann whether she wanted a democrat or a dictator. Any sense of ‘reformasi’ for Malaysia under Anwar died with the interview.
The current campaign for the deputy presidency of PKR is highlighting yet another dangerous rift in the party. If there was no contest for the deputy president, the rift and discontent within the party would be plastered over, so at least the public could not directly see. Nurul Izzah Anwar’s nomination for deputy president is exposing all the dirty linen in PKR to the public. It’s not about nepotism, but ignoring the old adage made famous in The Godfather Part II “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”. This was totally ignored by Anwar, who acted out of emotion, rather than cold deliberate strategy. If Rafizi loses his post, which is most likely, he will be free to criticise, especially if he makes good on his promise to resign as minister. The potential damage for this wasn’t taken into account in the move against Rafizi. Anwar is by no means a strategist.
PKR lost 16 seats in the last general election, and now stands with 31 in the Dewan Rakyat. Notable people who lost their seats in GE15 included Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (who was appointed a senator to become home minister), Fuziah Salleh (who was appointed a senator to become a deputy minister of domestic trade), and Nurul Izzah who is now running for the position as deputy president of PKR.
The next deputy president of PKR will have a heavy responsibility to rebuild the party quickly to prevent a possible wipe-out in the next general election.
Come the next general election, where are these politicians going to find winnable seats? Rumour has it that Anwar wants to recontest his old seat of Permatang Puah, which could be winnable, if enough former BN voters support PKR. This could be a very dangerous assumption to make.
There is an expectation that PKR will lose a number of seats in GE16. This may be in contrast to UMNO which may pick up a number of the 28 seats it lost in the last general election. UMNO strategists are confident of this and have conspicuously distancing themselves from Anwar’s leadership. UMNO is going along as a supporter of the ‘unity government’, but not a strong supporter of Anwar, the man. In the next general election, with no opposition from Pakatan Harapan in the individual seats UMNO contests, UMNO should do well. In seats PH will run in, there will not be the same cross support for PH from UMNO voters that PH strategists hope for.
There is a strong possibility that UMNO may win more seats than Bersatu. This would make UMNO the second largest Malay-centric party to PAS in the next Dewan Rakyat. UMNO will certainly be a larger party than PKR and what is left of Amanah.
After GE16 Zahid will be the kingmaker once again
The coming general election could be great for Zahid. First, Zahid will increase his winning margin of his seat of Bagan Datuk, which he only won by 348 votes in GE15. With the exception of DAP, UMNO could be the largest party in the ‘unity government’, putting up a good case for him to become prime minister. If the idea of Zahid becoming prime minister is rejected by Anwar, Zahid could look for a deal with Perikatan Nasional.
The talk is that Zahid is tired of being DPM and wants a chance at the top job. If there is a hung parliament once again, Zahid will be a potential kingmaker and could deal himself into the job.
Perikatan Nasional, with UMNO may only need the support of one of the east Malaysian states to form a simple majority.
In GE16, its won’t be the election that is important, it will be the bargaining and negotiation after another hung parliament. There are a lot of dynamics not mentioned here. The important things is that Anwar being an incumbent prime minister may not carry the weight he thinks it will. Muhyiddin Yassim could tell Anwar about this.
Under such a scenario, and this is not the only one, Zahid could become PMXI. Zahid has been a deputy prime minister for too long.
Source : Murray Hunter
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