The PKR deputy president is not necessarily the next in line for the presidency, party communications director Fahmi Fadzil said.
He was responding to a question on whether Rafizi Ramli’s landslide victory for the deputy presidency in the recently concluded PKR party polls would strengthen the perception that Rafizi is the leader to potentially take over from party president Anwar Ibrahim.
“Not necessarily so,” he said.
Fahmi, who is PKR’s Lembah Pantai MP, said at least this was not the case for Azmin Ali, who served as deputy president between November 2010 and February 2020.
He said the party has not discussed the potential successor.
Fahmi previously revealed that Anwar had laid out his succession during a party retreat in February.
He stressed that this is not the time to discuss succession planning as the party must prepare to face the 15th general election.
“I don’t think it is necessary to talk at this point in time about succession. Right now, there is no discussion in the party about that.
“During the party election, the door was wide open for anyone who wanted to challenge Anwar, but no one did that.
“Right now, we must allow Anwar this opportunity to lead the party into the 15th general election for various reasons. He is still the glue, and he can draw strong support,” Fahmi said in an interview with Malaysiakini and KiniTV on Wednesday.
No split in the party
Fahmi said the party has plenty of experience in dealing with problems that arose in the party leadership, including vacancies left following the mass exodus of PKR MPs and leaders led by Azmin in February 2020 as part of the Sheraton Move.
“Sometimes we don’t fill in those (vacant) positions, especially when we can get to the next party election. But during a time we cannot, there is a mechanism for the leadership to discuss, but it is not for me to say ahead of time.
“I remember how the party navigated the very difficult time when Anwar was sent to prison for the second time in 2015. We have been through a lot, and we have lots of experience dealing with this kind of situation,” he said.
Anwar retained the party presidency for the 2022-2025 term uncontested in the recent PKR leadership elections.
Meanwhile, Fahmi also dismissed the allegation that the party is split between two camps, with one aligned to Rafizi while the other supported party secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
“The way I look at it, right now, there are not really two camps in the same way in 2018. The PKR election in 2022 is far calmer and much better than 2018, where we saw members attacking each other,” he said.
Fahmi was referring to the tussle and infighting over the deputy president post between Rafizi and Azmin in 2018.
This time around, Rafizi won the deputy presidency race by securing 68,451 votes, while Saifuddin collected 48,223 votes.
Rafizi's allies - Tanjung Malim MP Chang Lih , Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Aminuddin Harun - also won three out of four vice-president posts.
Taking to social media on Tuesday, Rafizi urged party delegates to vote for candidates who are against the ‘big tent’ approach in the race for 20 seats in the Central Leadership Council (MPP).
He also uploaded a list of 25 candidates whom he claimed could play an important role in rebuilding the party’s strength.
‘Big tent’ equals to ‘new tent’
For Rafizi, the ‘big tent’ approach is like finding a ‘new tent’ rather than solving an existing problem.
The “big tent” approach is a proposal submitted by a top Harapan leader who tried to unite opposition parties to go against the current government consisting of BN and Perikatan Nasional.
Rafizi previously argued that PKR could not work with Bersatu, a party that is considered a traitor to PKR, because of its part in the Sheraton Move that resulted in the fall of the Harapan-led government in 2020.
Fahmi, however, said that Rafizi’s remark rejecting the “big tent” approach was merely for the consumption of party delegates in the party election campaign ahead of PKR congress.
He added that the party is unlikely to immediately pick up Rafizi’s view and decide during the party congress.
Fahmi said the party might need to hold a special congress to decide on issues related to broader direction.
The PKR congress is being held at the Ideal Convention Centre (IDCC), Shah Alam, Selangor, and will begin with the Youth and Women wings’ congress today, followed by the national congress tomorrow. - Mkini
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