PKR-Amanah-Pribumi axis to wrestle Umno, PAS in GE14
PKR has concluded that going alone in GE14 could be fatal for the party
Athi Shankar, Malaysia Outlook
The recent hospitalisation of PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was not in vain after all.
Someone whispered that a mini PKR supreme council meeting among those in Anwar inner circle was held near the “sickly” Wan Azizah’s hospital bed.
The much-publicised hospital opera may have been crafted to allow the jailed Anwar Ibrahim not only to visit his wife but also to sort out certain important political decisions for the future of PKR.
In that mini meeting during Anwar’s hospital visit, a source said it was decided that PKR would now work closely with Pribumi, led by Mahathir Mohamad, and Amanah formed by PAS splinter group as a united opposition front to face Umno and PAS in the next general election (GE14).
The three Malay-based parties in the opposition bloc are said to have decided to use a single standard election logo for themselves in GE14 if Pakatan Harapan did not get to register in time.
The Rocket
One insider said that the DAP, on the other hand, was hoping that Pakatan Harapan would not be registered in time.
If Pakatan Harapan did not get to register in time, said the insider the DAP would be able to use its own ‘Rocket’ logo to contest in GE14, a symbol familiar with Chinese masses.
The DAP has always been against formal registration of the opposition coalitions since the days of Gagasan Rakyat in the early 1990s, right through Barisan Alternatif, Pakatan Rakyat and until now.
The Chinese-based party did not want to lose its ‘Rocket’ and Chinese identity by getting into a formal coalition with a single standard election symbol.
DAP is very confident that it would fare far better in GE14 with its Rocket logo.
DAP is said not that keen to register Pakatan Harapan as a formal coalition.
It’s over for Anwar
Anwar meantime came and went after visiting his wife at Al Islam Specialist Hospital in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur.
He has arrived at a conclusion that his political career was virtually over and that he would never become the prime minister ever.
Anwar has resigned to the fact that “it’s over” for him.
Thus, he wants the captain-less PKR to consolidate its political position among others in the opposition.
Anwar and his loyalists feel that on its own, PKR may even get slaughtered in GE14.
Moreover, Anwar and several PKR leaders, who met him at the hospital, agreed that PKR deputy president and Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali can’t be trusted.
They believe that Azmin would dance along with Mahathir Mohamad and even jump ship, especially if PKR does not fare well in GE14.
These factors had prompted PKR stalwarts to agree to unite with other Malay-based opposition parties under one election symbol.
The strategy is to promote and market a united opposition Malay force to the masses.
“By going into GE14 as a united Malay force, the opposition parties believe that they can upstage Umno and PAS,” said a source familiar with the opposition politics.
Since PKR constitution does not allow non-members to contest under its logo, the Malay-based opposition parties may choose between the ‘Bunga Raya’ (or hibiscus) of Pribumi or ‘A’ of Amanah.
A safe bet would be Amanah’s logo because Anwar and co would have to swallow their pride to use the hibiscus.
The DAP candidates too may use Amanah’s logo if the Registrar of Societies finally decided to de-register the party due to its internal election fraud – considered the biggest in Malaysian electoral history.
