The aftermath of PKR’s party elections
Joceline Tan, The Star
PKR’s national congress this year is about a party that has finally arrived.
The party is tasting power after two decades of ups and downs and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the man who sparked off the modern Malay awakening, is on the cusp of his lifelong dream of becoming prime minister.
Yet, the mood in the grand convention hall seemed somewhat subdued and uncertain as the congress kicked off.
Outgoing president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail gave her most passionate speech ever, shedding tears as she recalled the “dark years” and beseeched members not to lose sight of their reformist ideals.
PKR’s reluctant president, whom her husband has described as “a woman of steel”, had given the best part of her life to the party.
She shattered the glass ceiling by becoming the first woman Deputy Prime Minister and is now exiting the party’s top post.
But only a portion of the hall was seen waving the blue and white pamphlets with the slogan, “Terima Kasih Kak Wan” as she spoke.
She must have also sensed the tentative mood because she deftly skipped the part of her speech on “era of internal slander”, leading her communications chief Fahmi Fadzil to quickly flash a reminder in the media WhatsApp group.
Everyone in the hall acknowledged the personal sacrifices she and her family had made and they were proud of how far the party had come.
So why the cool response to the outgoing president’s speech and the mixed mood at this glittering juncture of the party’s history?
“Well, we are now a party in power, we cannot behave the way we used to,” said Alor Setar MP Chan Ming Kai.
Dr Wan Azizah’s presidential speech also lacked the healing message that many delegates were hoping for.
“The theme of her speech was quite general but it was emotional for me just imagining what she went through. It also reminded me of when I first joined PKR,” said Kota Anggerik assemblyman Najwan Halimi.
It was obvious the battle wounds from the party’s most divisive election in history was still raw.
The two chief protagonists, Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and Rafizi Ramli, were separated by just a few seats on the stage but politically, the enmity between them seemed deeper than ever.
Their rivalry which started at the party elections four years ago looks set to be one of those great rivalries of politics.
The rift was visible among the speakers as well as the delegates.
One part of the hall would cheer loudly for speakers aligned to Rafizi while another portion of the hall would erupt for speakers aligned to Azmin.
Azmin has declared that he wants to work with “saudara Rafizi” but nobody in the party can see that happening.
Although Rafizi conceded defeat late Friday afternoon, it was obvious that he was not taking the loss well even though he had given Azmin the fight of his life.
He was not a gentleman in defeat and he did not congratulate the winner. He also continued to insist that he would have won if the re-election for Julau in Sarawak had been allowed to go on.
This was despite the fact that many in the party feel that Julau should not have been allowed to vote because of its problematic membership list.
In fact, delegates sitting at the back of the hall had jeered when five divisions – all aligned to Rafizi – were given special awards for actively recruiting new members in the last few years.
Some of them had shouted, “Julau, mana Julau?”
It was a jibe at PKR’s most controversial division and which caused immense damage to the party’s image.
But this is not the end for Rafizi going by the signals from some party leaders.
Anwar will need him to balance Azmin’s growing influence.
In a rare departure from practice, secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution was given the opportunity to make an opening speech where he credited Rafizi and Invoke for the role they played in the general election.
He also lavished thanks on Dr Wan Azizah, saying that she “made the impossible possible” and set the tone for her to play an advisory role in the party.
The hall only came alive towards the afternoon as one fiery speaker after another spoke about PKR’s success in the general election.
There were also big cheers for speakers who were against accepting ex-Umno members into Pakatan Harapan.
But the man who set the hall on fire was the elderly Tengku Nazeri Tengku Aldin from the Arau division in Perlis whose impassioned speech for the party to come together after the polls brought the delegates to their feet several times.
It was evident that delegates were deeply concerned about whether their wounded party can be mended and for a more professional election committee.
Tengku Nazeri’s no-holds-barred rhetoric resonated across the board. He also warned that there can be only one tiger on a hill and that tiger is Anwar.
As Tengku Nazeri ended his speech, Azmin stood up, walked over to Rafizi and held up his rival’s hand in the air.
The roof almost came down at this point. Azmin had read the mood and he knew it was the magnanimous thing for the victor to do.
Winner and loser also attempted a man-hug that was rather half-hearted and super awkward.
But it was what the delegates wanted to see and hear. They had been waiting for someone to address the controversial party election in a fair and forthright manner.
Anwar will make his maiden presidential speech today. He should not beat around the bush about the party polls which has angered members and embarrassed his party.
PKR’s new president and prime minister-in-waiting needs to take the bull by the horns to convince his party that the chaos will not be repeated in future polls.
And his message today must be the start of healing the split between the two camps.
“Anwar will have a big role to play in reconciling the party so that we can move forward,” said Najwan who was Anwar’s former aide.
