KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - Insiders within embattled Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's PKR party accused him of political chicanery - after his political secretary seemingly tried to close off contests for the top two positions in the party, tarnishing its image in the process.
"That's typical Anwar, he must somehow go from behind and play this drama and that. But in the end, because of the pure foolishness of it all, the fiasco will blow up in his face and he will end up weaker than before," a veteran PKR member told PoliticsNow Malaysia.
He was referring to a shock statement made over the weekend by Shamsul Iskandar that PKR may not allow the positions of president and deputy president to be contested during the party elections scheduled for May - so as to maintain internal party stability.
"Outwardly it looks like Anwar is scared of contests because who could believe Shamsul is not acting on his orders. You can see the Anwar running dogs out in full force to condemn Shamsul and slam PKR for behaving like Umno because that's exactly the situation Anwar wants to engineer. Then he can go to his senior leaders in PKR like Saifuddin Nasution or Amiruddin Shari and say, 'look, you guys have to contest or people will criticize our party for being as undemocratic as Umno. Even I have to open my post for contest and so does Rafizi," the PKR insider said.
"Yet the reality is, only Anwar wants a fight. He knows that as the incumbent PM, no one will dare challenge him and even if his deputy president Rafizi Ramli decides to, he can still win with ease. The post that he actually wants to be contested is Rafizi's. Unfortunately, the senior leaders he wants to take on Rafizi don't want anything to do with it. In fact, the entire party from the division and branch levels are not keen on a contest. They are sick and tired by all the shenanigans. It's a real waste of time to serve Anwar's obsession to get rid of his No.2."
TRYING TO TAKE DOWN RAFIZI?
According to party sources, several senior leaders even told Anwar to his face to get his daughter Nurul Izzah to contest for the deputy president's post. However, Anwar "cunningly" refused - not so much because he fears she will lose but perhaps to protect himself against accusations of being greedy and wishful of building a family dynasty of political power.
Rafizi, the 47-year-old PKR deputy president, is currently also the Economy Minister. An extremely bright and intelligent man, he was once one of the most popular and trusted of politicians - rated as a definite PM candidate in the making in the talent-scarce country.
These days, Rafizi's star has dimmed somewhat as the temperamental side of his persona becomes more noticeable to the public eye. Additionally, he has been blamed for a slew of unpopular cuts in government subsidies that have added to the sky-rocketing costs of living in the country. Nonetheless, Rafizi is still seen as an integral part of PKR and remains popular with the party grassroots.
"Whatever your grouse with Rafizi, you cannot deny he is his own man. He won't follow Anwar blindly," said the insider.
"The timing is not right for Rafizi to take on Anwar and they both know it. But when it is, Rafizi will dare do it. He is that type of guy and Anwar knows this."
REFORMIST? IT'S NOT EVEN PROFESSIONALLY RUN!
Saifuddin, the current Home Minister, is Anwar's long-time trusted lieutenant. In January 2010, Saifuddin was appointed PKR's secretary-general. In the 2014 party election, he vacated the post to run for the deputy presidency but was defeated by Azmin Ali, the former Selangor chief minister who has since defected to the opposition's Bersatu party.
Saifuddin was once again appointed PKR secretary-general in November 2016 - this time to replace Rafizi who had opted to take a break from politics after Anwar was perceived to have betrayed him. The 71-year-old Anwar had abruptly and at the 11th hour retracted support for Rafizi's challenge against Azmin for the deputy presidency during the 2016 party polls. In the 2022 party election, Saifuddin once again ran for the deputy presidency but lost to Rafizi.
Amiruddin, who shot to prominence only after he was picked in 2018 to replace Azmin as the Selangor chief minister, is believed to have outright rejected Anwar's call to contest against Rafizi. According to PKR sources, Anwar's inner circle have not given up and are still trying to pile pressure on Amiruddin to agree.
What about Fuziah Salleh, the current party sec-gen or Shamsul or even Fahmi Fadzil, who as Anwar's communications minister has slavishly devoted himself to protecting and whitewashing his boss' image and mis-steps?
"None of them have enough standing or popularity to succeed. But even if they harbor secret ambitions, it's not up to them to decide whether or not to contest. That decision will need Anwar's OK," said the insider.
Perhaps that is the most shocking of all - the PM's party is actually nothing at all like the reformist party it has portrayed itself to be for nearly three decades.
"It's not even professionally run," scoffed the insider.
Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow Malaysia
https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/
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