Who is the real leader in PKR?

By MT Webmaster Last updated May 18, 2016

So the question many are asking now is who is PKR’s leader? Is it Wan Azizah or is it Azmin? If it is Azmin then Wan Azizah should step aside. But if it is Wan Azizah then she cannot allow Azmin’s transgression to go unpunished. It is as simple as that and there are no two ways about it.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

“It wasn’t our invitation, it was the MB’s invitation,” said Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail yesterday in response to Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali’s invitation to PAS to kiss and make up (READ BELOW).

That is quite an odd response from the PKR party president, Wan Azizah, to an even odder action by the party deputy president, Azmin Ali, in sidestepping the Pakatan Harapan presidential council. And if the Kajang Move and the Sarawak state election disasters were not enough to demolish PKR’s credibility, this incident yesterday certainly finished the job.

First of all, Wan Azizah referred to Azmin as the MB and the invitation to PAS to kiss and make up as the MB’s invitation. So is Wan Azizah saying that Azmin acted merely as the Selangor Menteri Besar and not as PKR’s Deputy President? Is Wan Azizah also saying that Azmin, as the Menteri Besar, is above the party president?

And this is not the first time this is happening, mind you. Earlier Wan Azizah said that she cannot accept Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the new de facto opposition leader to replace Anwar Ibrahim. But then Azmin ignored her and continued to work with Mahathir in the ANC (Anti-Najib Campaign), the save Malaysia campaign, the Citizens’ Declaration, and so on. Azmin did not care two hoots about what Wan Azizah said.

Pakatan Harapan had earlier announced that the old Pakatan Rakyat doctrine of ‘agreeing to disagree’ has been abolished. Unlike the old Pakatan Rakyat, the new Pakatan Harapan must work on consensus on all policy matters. And whether PAS should be allowed to join Pakatan Harapan is certainly a policy matter that requires a consensus.

Judging by what Wan Azizah said, it appears like PKR is not agreeable to PAS joining Pakatan Harapan. And Wan Azizah said that not just PKR but Pakatan Harapan does not agree, so that means DAP and Amanah as well. So that means, as what Wan Azizah explained, this is an invitation from Azmin and not an invitation from PKR or Pakatan Harapan.

Is Wan Azizah saying that Azmin’s position as Menteri Besar is separate to his position as the deputy president of the party? And does not the deputy president have to support the president and uphold all the policies and decisions of the party? Or is the deputy president higher than the president because he happens to be the Menteri Besar?

When PKR removed Khalid Ibrahim as the Selangor Menteri Besar in 2014 it was on grounds that he was making his own decisions not endorsed by the party and in contradiction to the party policy. And since Khalid refused to listen to the party he must go.

If you can also remember, ten months ago in July last year, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was removed from his post and replaced with Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for exactly the same reason. Even though they tried to spin the whole issue by saying that Muhyiddin was removed as the DPM for questioning 1MDB, that is actually not true.

Muhyiddin was removed because he was not supporting the party president and was, in fact, undermining the party president (like what they accused Khalid of doing and what Azmin is also now doing). What Muhyiddin was doing was hurting the party although he may say he was just attacking the Prime Minister and was not attacking the party.

The Prime Minister is the party president so if you attack the Prime Minister you also attack the party president and in that same process you hurt the party. Are they too stupid to understand this or is it they think we are stupid instead?

So, contrary to what Wan Azizah said, Azmin was not acting as the Selangor Menteri Besar in inviting PAS to kiss and make up and to join Pakatan Harapan. Azmin was acting as Wan Azizah’s deputy. And what Azmin does and says binds both Wan Azizah and the party as well.

Wan Azizah cannot wash her hands of what Azmin does and says and distance herself from it by saying that this is an invitation from the Menteri Besar and not an invitation from her, her deputy, or from the party. Azmin, her deputy, represents her and the party.

Did Azmin breach party discipline, policy or ethics? PAS was kicked out from Pakatan Rakyat when its president, Abdul Hadi Awang, made a decision that was not endorsed, agreed or supported by Pakatan Rakyat (which is to propose Azmin as the new Selangor Menteri Besar to replace Khalid Ibrahim).

What did Hadi do (propose that Azmin become the Selangor Menteri Besar) that is different from what Azmin did (propose that PAS be brought into Pakatan Harapan)? Did not Hadi go against the coalition policy? And did not Azmin also go against the coalition policy?

Wan Azizah cannot take the easy way out and just brush this off as ‘the MB’s invitation’ as if it has nothing to do with her or the party. Azmin is her deputy and whatever Azmin does binds her and the party as well. The only way she can distance herself and the party from what Azmin did is for the party to take disciplinary action against Azmin.

After all, who appoints Azmin as the Selangor Menteri Besar? Did Azmin appoint himself? Is Azmin not the PKR Menteri Besar? When they removed Khalid Ibrahim as the Menteri Besar they argued that this is PKR’s right because PKR decides who should become the MB. Does this not apply to Azmin as well? Is it not PKR that decides whether Azmin should or should not become MB? Or does Azmin not regard himself as a PKR Menteri Besar?

Since Azmin has proposed that Pakatan Harapan accept PAS as a partner, can Azmin now also propose that Pakatan Harapan accept Umno as a partner? And why can’t Azmin propose that Pakatan Harapan accept Umno as a partner if he can propose that Pakatan Harapan accept PAS? As the Menteri Besar of Selangor does he not have this freedom to do so? And if he does not have the freedom to propose that Pakatan Harapan accept Umno as a partner then he also does not have the freedom to propose that Pakatan Harapan accept PAS as a partner.

Judging by her statement, Wan Azizah is making it appear like PKR has two bosses, herself and Azmin. And Azmin, as the joint-boss or co-boss, has the power to make his own decisions independent and in contradiction to Wan Azizah.

In short, Wan Azizah is admitting that there is no chain of command in PKR. There are many warlords and each warlord is his or her own boss. And they decide their own policies and make their own decisions — even to the extent of contesting three- or four-corner fights against their own partners in Pakatan Harapan.

If this is how PKR conducts its business, this is not going to build public confidence in the party. Either Azmin was right or he was wrong in membelakangkan the party. Both ways would be bad and would demolish public confidence in PKR.

If what Azmin did was right then tough luck for PKR. This just proves that PKR is a party with no political culture and no discipline. If what Azmin did was wrong then Wan Azizah cannot just wash her hands of the matter by saying that it was Azmin’s personal decision and not the party’s or the coalition’s decision. Action has to be taken against Azmin to restore the party’s image and reputation.

As it is, Wan Azizah is already being accused of being a weak leader and of not having any leadership qualities. Back in 2014, when she said she does not mind being a puppet, that brought her credibility down many steps.

And now with this latest fiasco and by attempting to sweep the whole thing under the carpet many are beginning to say she might as well just step aside and let Azmin take over since Azmin and not her make the crucial decisions involving the party.

One thing Wan Azizah needs to understand is that this is not about her or about Azmin. This is about the party. PKR is resting on the edge of a slippery slope and if she allows the party to slide down that slippery slope then that is going to be the end of PKR. So she needs to save the party.

PKR has not even got over the Kajang Move yet. People are still talking about that and are still unhappy about it. Then came the Sarawak state election fiasco. And the last straw that is threatening to break the camel’s back is Azmin’s invitation to PAS to join Pakatan Harapan and Wan Azizah brushing it off as if it has nothing to do with the party or with the coalition.

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Dr Wan Azizah: Olive branch to PAS from Azmin, not Pakatan

(Malay Mail Online, 11 May 2016) – The Pakatan Harapan presidential council today denied extending an olive branch to PAS to join the opposition bloc.

PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said it was her deputy Datuk Seri Azmin Ali’s own initiative to reach out to PAS.

“It wasn’t our invitation, it was the MB’s invitation,” she told reporters, referring to Azmin, who is also Selangor mentri besar.

She was responding to PAS vice-president Datuk Mohd Amar Abdullah, who had reportedly rejected Azmin’s offer to work with Pakatan Harapan and had in turn offered PKR to join the “third force” that was formed between PAS and Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia.

Azmin had in a recent statement called on PAS to join forces with PKR, DAP and Amanah, following the opposition’s poor performance in Sarawak, to “move forward to face GE14 as a team.”

Dr Wan Azizah noted however, that discussions were still open on the looming by-elections in the Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar federal seats.

“Especially for Sungai Besar, which is in Selangor, and Selangor’s exco is made up of PAS, PKR, DAP, and backbenchers from Amanah,” she said.

Raja Petra Kamarudin RPK