PKR looks further ahead

The PKR congress this weekend served notice that it is banging on the door of Umno’s Johor fortress.

Azmin’s reference to the boss had the Youth and Women’s assembly cheering and applauding. They probably find the idea of Anwar being Prime Minister much more exciting than the notion of him as “God’s gift”. But it is probable that very few among the cheering delegates believe he is destined for that green-domed building in Putrajaya, not because of his sodomy trial but because they know the ground has shifted and that Chinese votes alone will not carry Pakatan Rakyat to Putrajaya.

By JOCELINE TAN, The Star

THE Pulai Springs Resort in Johor is associated more with golf than politics.

But golf took a backseat this weekend as the PKR crowd swarmed to the resort to make a statement that Johor will be their frontline state in the general election.

The party’s national congress this year is what the party’s Johor chief Datuk Chua Jui Meng called an isyarat merah, that is, a red light warning to the Umno bastion.

It also served notice on another Umno bastion the Felda vote. The party made some glittering promises to Felda settlers and is backing settlers from several schemes to sue the Government over issues of payments over their labour.

“We are banging on Umno’s front door,” claimed Chua.

Party secretary Saifuddin Nasution, who is from Kedah, even turned up wearing a Johor style baju Melayu.

Despite all the talk about breaking down Umno’s stronghold, PKR and its partners in Pakatan Rakyat are basically eyeing the mixed seats among Johor’s 26 parliamentary constituencies.

Its leaders admit frankly that the Malay-majority seats will stay with Umno while the Felda areas in the state are still out of their reach.

As such, the foray into Johor revolves mainly around 15 or so mixed seats and it is banking on the prevailing Chinese sentiment.

PKR’s problem in Johor is that it does not have the network or organisation whereas Chua is still trying to shake off his previous history as an MCA leader and minister.

Chua speaks excellent Malay and is still quite charismatic but he may have problems on the Malay ground because everyone in Johor knows he has issues with the Johor palace. His Datukship was withdrawn after the new Sultan ascended the throne.

Still, it would be folly for the Barisan Nasional to be complacent. Nothing can be taken for granted in the new political landscape and the ruling coalition will have to step up its game.

“At the very least, we will keep Umno occupied here,” said Seri Setia assemblyman Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

Last year, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail described her husband and Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as “God’s gift” to politics.

This year, deputy president Azmin Ali referred to him as the “seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia”. A delegate from Kedah said Anwar is an “institution that we have to defend”.

Azmin’s reference to the boss had the Youth and Women’s assembly cheering and applauding. They probably find the idea of Anwar being Prime Minister much more exciting than the notion of him as “God’s gift”.

But it is probable that very few among the cheering delegates believe he is destined for that green-domed building in Putrajaya, not because of his sodomy trial but because they know the ground has shifted and that Chinese votes alone will not carry Pakatan Rakyat to Putrajaya.

This party is still centred on Anwar. But, as the sodomy trial drags on and particularly after the sex video, there is a growing sense that the party should be able to survive without Anwar.

He has the name recognition and international stature no one else in the party has. The fizzle and the oomph will be missing and the party may not do as well without his overpowering personality but it will be around because multi-racial politics has a future in Malaysia.

For instance, this is the only party where the debaters come from all races and speak Bahasa Malaysia well. The party will become more real when this group moves up.

Meanwhile, it has to discard its image as a party out to save Anwar from his personal problems and a party of too many family members.

PKR has attracted its share of young faces who are there not because they think Anwar is God’s gift or to save him from jail.

This new cohort is not attracted to the race-based politics of Umno or the theocratic policies of PAS; neither are they drawn to DAP which has veered into Chinese chauvinism. The undisputed star among them is PKR strategist Rafizi Ramli, the man behind many of the new ideas in the party.

A number of the newbies were showcased as speakers this year. Among them was Azrul Azwar, the chief economist of Bank Islam. They are clearly greenhorns but they are intelligent, idealistic and have impressive qualification. You can tell they are from another generation of politicians because their debate is peppered with quotes from civil rights activists from the West.

They are the reasons why PKR is worth watching, rather than their bravado claim of breaking down the door of Umno’s Johor fortress.