PETALING JAYA: PKR must develop a leadership succession plan if it wants to stand a chance of retaining power at the next general election (GE16), says a political analyst.
Jeniri Amir, a fellow of the Council of Professors, said PKR’s Hassan Karim was correct in his assessment that the party should put forward a new face to lead the line in GE16.
On Monday, Hassan suggested that Nurul Izzah Anwar should be the one to eventually succeed Anwar Ibrahim as party president, calling her “capable” and “experienced”.
“Anwar will be almost 80 by the time he finishes his term (end 2027). The party needs rejuvenation, and the recent election results are proof of this.
“The party needs to look beyond Anwar,” said Jeniri.
In GE 15 in 2022, PKR suffered a loss of 18 parliamentary seats, from the 49 it held previously. Significantly, the party lost the Permatang Pauh constituency, long considered a stronghold of Anwar’s family.
The party also had a poor outing in last year’s six state elections, winning only 27 of the 58 seats it contested.
“PKR’s succession plan is important for the party and Pakatan Harapan as a whole. The leader of PH must come from PKR,” he said, adding that it was unrealistic to expect a leader from DAP or Amanah to command the support of the masses.
“But to continue leading PH, PKR must perform. Otherwise, it will not have the credibility to lead PH, and you would have a situation similar to 2018 when Dr Mahathir Mohamad led PH despite his party Bersatu having the least seats. It is untenable.”
Jeniri also said any leader PKR puts forward must be someone who can regain the confidence and support of the Malays.
‘How’ critical, not ‘who’
Wong Chin Huat of Sunway University said PKR, like any other party, must put a succession plan in place.
“What plagues so many Malaysian parties – from Umno, MCA, DAP to PKR – is the leader’s fear that allowing a popular heir apparent to emerge is akin to signing his (own) death warrant,” he told FMT.
“That’s why former prime minister Mahathir had four deputies during his (initial) 22 years and still could not tolerate Anwar in his (second stint of) 22 months,” he said.
But Wong said the succession plan is less about the “who” and more about “how” an heir apparent is chosen.
He said PKR could take a leaf from DAP and impose term limits on the top position instead of cherry-picking a successor.
“To keep peace in the party, the political life of a leader should be tied to their ability to deliver electoral victory, not their control of party machinery.
“Anointing an heir apparent who has no electoral victory to boast but only familial lineage and some personal charisma to attract voters is more likely to lead to infighting,” said Wong.
He said infighting was among the reasons for PKR’s recent decline at the polls.
