SHAH ALAM, Selangor: The annual congress of Malaysian opposition party Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) ended on Sunday (Jul 17) after three days of fiery speeches by delegates and party leaders.
The provocative messages and veiled criticism in some of the speeches have prompted speculation by local media that the party was seemingly split into two factions – one, behind party president Anwar Ibrahim and the other, supporting newly appointed number two Rafizi Ramli.
The reports homed in on the two leaders’ different approaches to the general election, with Mr Anwar favouring a “big tent” approach, working alongside other opposition parties, as opposed to Mr Rafizi preference for PKR and the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition to go it alone.
Malaysia’s 15th general election must be called by mid-September in 2023 and there is speculation it may be called in the coming months.
However, the last day of proceedings at the PKR congress saw a key symbolic moment of reconciliation – when Mr Anwar and Mr Rafizi shook hands on stage and raised their arms aloft, beaming for the cameras. That moment drew the loudest cheer among delegates from across the three days.
In their respective wrap-up speeches and during a joint press conference, both leaders sought to downplay any rift between them and pledged to work together to prepare the party for the next general election.
“We have ended the congress on a positive note,” said Mr Anwar during the press conference.
“If you look at the sentiment today, it has been largely positive. Indeed there have been differences in opinion, but differences in opinion is not an issue.”
Mr Anwar also said he and Mr Rafizi were in agreement that PKR would work together with its PH coalition partners to beat the Barisan Nasional alliance at the national polls.
But the party president said he has ruled out working with parties with differing principles.
“As to having discussions with other leaders (in the opposition), I as the leader of the opposition, I have to. But to network under a big tent with those who have betrayed us and are not aligned with our reform agenda? That cannot continue,” said Mr Anwar.
Mr Rafizi, the party deputy president, echoed those sentiments, highlighting that PKR and PH must instead focus on coming up with a “coherent set of policies” to woo voters.
However, he did not rule out working with other opposition parties if they were aligned with principles set by PH.
“For example, let’s say (we want to work with a party from) Sabah or Sarawak, and the party rejects UMNO and BN, rejects corruption and they add value to PH, perhaps we can discuss (a possible partnership). But this cannot be our foremost strategy for the general election,” said Mr Rafizi.
“We cannot compromise on the boundaries that have been spelt out. The terms of reference are very clear and this will make it easier for us ahead of GE,” he added.