Rafizi must now re-unite, strengthen PKR, say analysts

 

Unofficial results show that Rafizi Ramli has secured an insurmountable lead in the contest to become PKR’s new deputy president.

PETALING JAYA: Rafizi Ramli, who has unofficially secured election as PKR deputy president, must now work to unite PKR and restructure the party, say two analysts.

Political scientist Wong Chin Huat, of the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development at Sunway University in Malaysia. said Rafizi must manage his “impressive” win carefully.

He said Rafizi must quickly reconcile with Saifuddin Nasution’s camp, assure party president Anwar Ibrahim of his loyalty, and reach out to other member parties of Pakatan Harapan

“It is not enough for him to win support from PKR grassroots and voters outside PH if he can’t work with other leaders in PKR and the opposition coalition,” Wong told FMT.

Wong said Rafizi’s victory also showed that PKR had come out from Anwar’s shadow. While Rafizi would back Anwar’s bid to become prime minister, the party leader would eventually have to step aside for Rafizi.

He said Rafizi’s election as PKR deputy president will affect the PKR and PH strategy for the next general election, as Rafizi’s preference was for PH to compete with a “clear product differentiation” instead of banging on the old strategy of the “big tent”.

The “big tent” term is used to describe Anwar’s preference for uniting all opposition parties against Barisan Nasional at the next general election.

Rafizi said in April that he was against the idea. He said the “Sheraton Move” of March 2020 showed that the coalition could be betrayed by a component member, Bersatu.

“If Rafizi gets to convince PH, there would not be room to negotiate with Pejuang and Warisan, while MUDA, a potention competitor to PKR – may have to decide quickly whether to join PH,” Wong said.

Political scientist James Chin of the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute said Rafizi’s biggest challenge was to unite the party and regain the support of those who had backed Saifuddin in the elections.

Rafizi would need to restructure PKR to be in a stronger position to face Barisan Nasional in the general election, he said, as PKR had become “very weak” after suffering losses in three state elections.

Chin said that although Rafizi is not in favour of the “big tent” approach, he had not yet given details of how he would revive PKR’s fortune, especially after the party’s defeats in the Melaka, Johor and Sarawak elections.

“Everything is dependent on when the next general election is held, so he doesn’t have a lot of time left,” Chin said.

He said Rafizi’s victory was a good result for PKR, as “everyone understood” that the party is in need of deep seated and fundamental reforms if it wanted to stand a chance at the next general election. - FMT