Analyst sees open war between PKR factions

Kamarul Zaman Yusoff notes public statements accusing Daim Zainuddin of interfering in the party polls in support of Azmin Ali.

PETALING JAYA: A political analyst has warned of an “open war” in PKR between a faction loyal to incumbent deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali and one that supports his challenger, Rafizi Ramli, following allegations of interference in the upcoming party election.

Kamarul Zaman Yusoff told FMT that he perceived recent remarks by Kapar MP Abdullah Sani and Ijok assemblyman Idris Ahmad, both of the Rafizi camp, as virtual declarations of war.

Abdullah and Idris, alluding to claims that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad would like to see Azmin’s faction strengthened and incoming party president Anwar Ibrahim’s influence weakened, alleged that Daim Zainuddin, a staunch Mahathir ally, was interfering in the PKR election.

Abdullah named Daim as among those keen to stop Anwar from becoming prime minister as promised under a deal reached by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) leadership prior to the May general election. He said it would be difficult for Anwar to take over from Mahathir if Azmin retained the deputy president’s post.

Idris meanwhile alleged that Mahathir and Daim had sponsored some PKR leaders to destroy the party from within.

Kamarul said Abdullah and Idris were examples of Anwar allies who had been sidelined by the Mahathir administration.

“They may be just mid-level leaders, but what they say carries weight because they are elected representatives and are contesting for important posts in the party,” he said.

“This isn’t good for PH. There has been speculation of a rift between Mahathir and Anwar and of attempts to stop Anwar from becoming prime minister. So when a PKR leader speaks like this, it seems to validate the speculation.”

He said damage to PH could be avoided if Rafizi or Anwar were to tell their supporters to tone down their criticism of Mahathir in public.

He also noted that Rafizi himself had avoided using the kind of rhetoric employed by Abdullah and Idris.

He said it was possible that Azmin’s chances would be affected if he didn’t counter the allegations but it was also possible that he would gain from PKR members’ perception of Rafizi’s camp as having resorted to unsavoury tactics.

James Chin of the University of Tasmania told FMT he believed there was some truth to Abdullah’s claim.

He said it was no secret that “some people” wanted to stop Anwar from becoming prime minister.

“I think those trying to stop Anwar are doing so because they want Mahathir to lead PH into the next general election. They know they can win again if Mahathir is at the helm.”

He claimed that many people were uncomfortable with having Anwar as prime minister. “It’s important to remember that the opposition tried to win general elections under Anwar but got nowhere until Mahathir took over,” he said.

He speculated that Azmin would deny the allegations against him, but said the perception that he was favoured by Mahathir would likely persist. -FMT