PKR leaders pour cold water on KJ’s claim that it needs right-wing Malay support

 

PKR leaders Hassan Karim (left) and Taufiq Johari believe PKR should remain multicultural but Taufiq also wants to see the party woo more Malays to its side.

PETALING JAYA: PKR leaders have brushed off former minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s suggestion that winning over right-wing Malays is essential to enable the party and its coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) to retain power.

Instead, its Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim said, the party should focus on improving the economic well-being of the lower and middle class Malays.

Hassan believes that the Malay community is more divided economically than ideologically.

“PKR, whose political ideology is in the middle, needs to get the support of the lower and middle-class Malay populace. It does not need to transform into a right-wing party,” he told FMT.

Hassan said the party also needs to pay attention to the well-being of the non-Malay community to ensure it gets widespread support.

On Tuesday Khairy, who is also former Umno Youth chief, said PH, particularly its lynchpin PKR, will have to win over the right-wing Malays to stay in power.

This, he said, means that they will have to make overtures to the likes of Umno and PAS.

Khairy argued that the coalition can no longer count on its core mainly moderate multiracial support to stay on in Putrajaya after the next general elections.

Multiculturalism is one of PKR’s ideologies, going back to the inception of Keadilan in April 1999.

Its membership is open to all races, as are its leadership positions.

Kedah PKR Youth chief and Sungai Petani MP Dr Taufiq Johari said PKR should not abandon its multi-racial ideology but conceded that it needs to garner more Malay support.

He pointed out that support from a single ethnic community would not guarantee the party’s place in the government or help it stay as the dominant party in Malaysian politics.

Taufiq believes that PKR should focus on performing well as a party in the government as a way to win more Malay support.

“PKR will remain committed to the principle that this party is a ‘reform’ party that represents the voices of various ethnicities,” he told FMT.

“By adhering to such a principle, PKR will become the relevant and enduring party in Malaysia,” he added. - FMT