Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim pleaded with former allies to return to PKR while apologising for any possible mistakes.
"Otai-otai (old timers)... please return.
"For my other friends, who may have felt a little marginalised - if we have made any mistakes, I apologise. Return to the path of our struggle," he said during his policy speech in the party's annual congress at the Melaka International Trade Centre this morning.
Earlier today, PKR Women's information chief Ginie Lim posted a picture of herself at the congress with Tian Chua - who was sacked from the party after he contested Batu as an independent candidate in the last general election - and Dr Xavier Jayakumar, who had resigned from the party in 2021 to support then-prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
Anwar's appeal comes as PKR grapples with internal friction, tensions with its rival-turned-ally-turned-rival-again BN within the federal government, and a string of electoral setbacks.
PKR was dealt a heavy blow in the Negeri Sembilan state election due to a combination of BN's cooperation with opposition bloc Perikatan Nasional successfully consolidating Malay votes, the swing of Indian voters to BN, and low turnout among Chinese voters.
After poor outings in Johor and Sabah, PKR had retained only two of the five seats it held in Negeri Sembilan, after fielding candidates in 16 constituencies, including former menteri besar Aminuddin Harun, who counted among the party's losers.
Additionally, in response to the disastrous showing in Negeri Sembilan, six state division chiefs sent a letter to Anwar, appealing for a review of Aminuddin's leadership.
PKR is further embattled from within, as it had recently lost Wong Chen, who vacated his Subang parliamentary seat and resigned from the party to join Bersama - co-led by former PKR leaders Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad - after serving PKR for 17 years.
On top of that, Anwar’s daughter, Nurul Izzah, recently requested to resign from the party’s deputy presidency post, which was rejected, and she was given temporary leave instead while PKR vice-president Saifuddin Nasution Ismail takes over her duties.
However, she later reiterated her intention to step down from the party’s number two post, with the former Permatang Pauh MP saying she plans to further her studies and focus on commitments “beyond the political arena”. - Mkini
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