Should Anwar or Azmin become PKR’s new President?
So, the PKR party election is not just about who is going to be the new President to replace Wan Azizah. It is also about whether Mahathir can hold on to the Prime Ministership of Malaysia. For Mahathir to survive, he needs Azmin as the PKR President. Once Anwar takes over, Mahathir will be standing on very shaky ground.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Protege turned protagonist Azmin Ali versus mentor turned adversary Anwar Ibrahim
Azmin Ali’s people are hinting he may not contest the PKR presidency since Anwar Ibrahim is going to contest the post. If Anwar is not going to contest PKR’s presidency, then Azmin may challenge Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail for the post. Hence Anwar will have to contest the PKR presidency to stop Azmin from going against Wan Azizah.
As the PKR President, Wan Azizah was given the post of Deputy Prime Minister. If Azmin takes over as PKR’s new President, he will replace Wan Azizah as the new Deputy Prime Minister. But Anwar will not want that to happen because by tradition the Deputy Prime Minister is also the Prime Minister-in-waiting.
And that would mean Anwar’s chances of becoming the Eighth Prime Minister of Malaysia would be quite slim. Hence it is very dangerous for Anwar to allow Azmin to become PKR’s new President.
Will Mahathir replace Wan Azizah with Anwar?
No doubt, there is no guarantee if Anwar becomes PKR’s new President that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will appoint him the Deputy Prime Minister. Mahathir might still keep Wan Azizah as the Deputy Prime Minister since she has just been in the job for about two months.
Mahathir already indicated that he cannot do any deal with the new Umno President, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, because he is too close to Anwar. If Mahathir rejects Zahid because of his relationship with Anwar then for sure Mahathir cannot accept Anwar as well.
Anwar is hoping that once he takes over as PKR’s new President, and once he wins a parliament seat in a by-election, Mahathir will have no choice but to appoint him as the new Deputy Prime Minister. But Mahathir is not one to succumb to pressure and the more you pressure him the more stubborn he becomes.
Will these three support Anwar to oust Mahathir?
Mahathir knows Anwar has a Plan B. And Plan B would be to do a deal with PAS, Umno and the Sabah and Sarawak ‘independent’ parties. But Anwar is not yet confident he has the numbers because both Umno and PAS are split. While some in Umno and PAS are prepared to do a deal with Anwar, others feel they should remain outside Pakatan Harapan and take power in GE15 since Pakatan Harapan will not survive all the way till GE15.
The question here would be: are Abdul Hadi Awang and Zahid able to get 100% support from their own parties? If so then Anwar’s Plan B would be viable, but with the Sabah and Sarawak parties coming on board as well. PPBM and DAP on their own will not have the numbers to resist a unity government of ex-Barisan and ex-Pakatan parties.
So, the PKR party election is not just about who is going to be the new President to replace Wan Azizah. It is also about whether Mahathir can hold on to the Prime Ministership of Malaysia. For Mahathir to survive, he needs Azmin as the PKR President. Once Anwar takes over, Mahathir will be standing on very shaky ground.
