Anwar’s leadership the focus in PKR congress
By Adib Zalkapli, The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 – PKR delegates gather this weekend after a fractious party election divided views over Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, its de facto leader and uncontested chief of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact.
Wanita PKR — its largest wing — is set to table a motion to formalise Anwar’s position as PKR supreme head with its re-elected chief Zuraida Kamaruddin saying it should be held exclusively by Anwar and remain unchallenged.
PKR president Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail however played down the suggestion, citing party stability to justify the current leadership arrangement of her husband.
“That is the view of the Wanita chief. We respect her view. But even without a formal position, Anwar continues to make effective decisions,” Wan Azizah told The Malaysian Insider last night.
“And there is no need for specific position reserved for Anwar as we make our decisions collectively,” she added in the special interview at her residence in the leafy Bukit Segambut suburb.
Wan Azizah also said Anwar’s ongoing sodomy trial as an obstacle for the opposition leader to formally lead the party.
Anwar is accused of sodomising his former aide Saiful Azlan Bukhari in 2008, just three months after the opposition collectively denied BN its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority.
“The way it is going, I don’t think you need a crystal ball, but of course I’m still hoping.
“If he stands for election, and if anything happens to him, probably there will be negative impact,” said Wan Azizah.
PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution however said while party leaders should ideally be democratically elected, Anwar’s emotional influence in PKR must also be taken into consideration.
“One argument says the leader must be democratically elected. Another argument takes into account the emotional attachment and the members’ sentiment towards Anwar Ibrahim,” Saifuddin told The Malaysian Insider.
“I am more inclined to say there is no need to formalise the position, but we leave it to the delegates. Let them debate as this is the place for them to discuss party affairs,” he added.
“Party members feel attached to him for what he has gone through for the past decade. What happened to Anwar left a deep impact on them and it has never been experience by any Malaysian politician,” said the Machang MP.
Anwar was the deputy prime minister from 1993 to 1998 and was seen as a successor to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who became the prime minister in 1981.
His sacking 1998 over allegations of sodomy and abuse of power left him languishing in a prison for six years.
Wan Azizah founded the party in 1999 and held the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in Anwar’s absence until August 2008.
Anwar was released in 2004 and in the last party election in 2007 he was nominated to contest the presidency but pulled out at the last minute after the Registrar of Societies (RoS) refused to lift the ban on Anwar to hold elected posts in the party due to his conviction.
