PKR activist: Not too late for Harapan to change

 

Calls for a change in the Pakatan Harapan leadership have been mounting as the coalition suffered heavy losses in last Saturday's Malacca state election.

Terengganu PKR Youth’s women bureau chief Yuslaini Azmi said it is not too late for Harapan to make changes, especially for her party to bring in new faces with fresh ideas and credibility.

“PKR has to appoint an assertive leadership line-up and not let bootlicking members be in the front line.

“Instead, place new faces that can bring in fresh ideas while having credibility as leaders,” she said in a statement today.

Yuslaini noted the low turnout on Saturday’s election due to political fatigue among voters was part of the reasons for Harapan losses but concurred the coalition’s image to fight for reform and progress was tainted by the acceptance of two political candidates from Umno.

“Young voters even sent the clear message by not returning home to vote as a protest over Harapan’s decision.

“There are voices that said the logo or flag factor caused Harapan’s losses, but those are not the main issues,” she said.

Yuslaini added that PKR also committed errors during the campaign, such as the overexposure of senior leaders that led to a drop in local candidates' credibility.

She cited Farzana Hayani, the 21-year-old PKR candidate for Sungai Rambai, saying that there were times where party leader Anwar Ibrahim had to help the candidate out answering questions during several campaign talk shows.

“Moreover, placing Farzana into a difficult seat was unwise. Young candidates should be given safe seats like what DAP is doing, while experienced candidates will fight for harder seats, so it is fair for new candidates to get experience.

“DAP is an exemplary party when it comes to the strategic allocation of seats to young candidates,” she said.

Sungai Rambai is a BN stronghold, and Farzana came third in Saturday's election, garnering 1,356 votes to the winning candidate BN’s Siti Faizah Abdul Azis (3,801 votes). PN’s Muhd. Jefri Safry came second with 2,664 votes.

Yuslaini believes stronger cooperation between the three parties’ youth wing in Harapan is needed to reduce public displays of internal conflicts, and the coalition needs to work harder to penetrate rural seats without sacrificing its principles such as working with kleptocratic leaders or using bribery.

She praises Anwar, saying he has fought for reforms since the 1970s to a point where the opposition is recognised today.

“However, the fight for reformation is not a fight to lift the agenda of one person only, but a people’s movement in reforming the country’s institutions.

“If there are no changes in Harapan leadership, it will be very hard for them to win Putrajaya back in the near future,” she said. - Mkini