Malaysian prime minister’s own political party is in collapse

While Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim is on an official visit to Italy, Spain and Brazil to attended the BRICS summit, his own Peoples’ Justice Party (PKR) is in rapid collapse at home.

News is emerging from chat groups and pundits there are mass branch resignations of members across more than 200 branches nationwide. Some branches just don’t exist anymore.

The party vote for deputy president, where Nurul Izzah Anwar, Anwar Ibrahim’s daughter challenged incumbent Rafizi Ramli, who was minister of economy until he resigned a few weeks ago showed that some 16,000 members out of 30,000 eligible, did not even bother to vote in this nationally publicized dual. This just indicates the level of apathy within PKR itself, with such an important event for the future of the party.

PKR has gradually been losing electoral support since 2013. In the 2014 general election PKR received 20.39 percent of the national aggregate vote, and in 2022 PKR only received 15.72 percent of the vote. Before the November 2022 general election Pakatan Harapan, the coalition PKR heads was not expected to form the government. However, in an umbrella coalition stitched together and approved by the former king Sultan Abdullah, Anwar became the prime minister.

This represented the crescendo of 27 years of struggle for Anwar to become prime minister as a reformer, who would dramatically change the country. Many even heralded the event as a new ‘Merdeka’ or independence for the nation.

However, very quickly people became dismayed when Anwar appointed Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who was facing criminal charges at the time as deputy prime minister. Then, many political cronies were given seats on the boards of government linked companies (GLCs) against PKR policy, leading to much dismay in the party. Anwar supporters would say that he had little choice because he needed to ‘give in’ due to being in coalition with UMNO.

The next shock to PKR supporters was the reduction in sentence of former prime minister Najib Razak’s prison term from 12 years to 6 years, and a reduction of his fine from RM 210 million to RM 55 million. PKR campaigned very heavily against corruption and saw that the ‘chief kleptocrat’ was being given favouritism in the Pardons Board. There was a clear message here. Corruption is OK for the elite.

Over the last couple of months there has been a distinct fall in trust for Anwar. Its not just the failure to end institutional race favouritism, inaction of the rising cost of living, failure to stem corruption, the rising cost of goods, decline of freedom of speech, failure to initiate law reform and repeal draconian legislation, and U-turns in policy. It’s the nature and style of leadership of Anwar that is putting people off.

This is not what most PKR members had worked hard over many years for.

The once charismatic leader who delivered inspiring speeches that made him a political hero have just gone and been replaced with arrogance, detachment, and empathy lacking approaches to government. Anwar’s hypocrisy can’t be hidden as its not just about one or two cases anymore. Anwar’s hypocrisy is seen almost across the board. Those who see Anwar speak in person just see a tired and defeated looking man.

The resignations of Rafizi Ramli as minister of economy and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad on May 28, after both lost their party positions at the PKR elections, sent a clear message that all was not well in the cabinet. Rafizi’s revelations since his cabinet departure confirm this. Both Anwar and his home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail both asked them publicly to reconsider their decisions, a sign they had made a strategic mistake in allowing both to become free agents not bound by cabinet solidarity.

Today, there are no reforms, no economic miracles, no renaissance in society, and greater racial division than ever. There is never ending news of political cronies receiving court discharges without acquittals (DNAA), putting the Attorney General and judiciary under suspicion of political influence. There is a mediocre cabinet, with no rising and aspiring stars that will carry on the philosophy of reform further after Anwar’s time as leader. There is a total leadership vacuum.