Anwar, Muhyiddin expected to face criticism from grassroots at PKR, Bersatu conventions

KUALA LUMPUR: Amid a lower approval rating for one and an exodus of parliamentarians for the other, inconvenient questions await Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and former premier Muhyiddin Yassin ahead of their respective annual party conventions.

Mr Anwar, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president, would likely be questioned on his perceived lack of reforms during his one year at the helm of the country from his grassroots support base.

Meanwhile, Muhyiddin - the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president - may be quizzed on the status of the four Members of Parliament (MPs) from his Malay nationalist party who have proclaimed support for the prime minister.

Analysts believe that the conventions will be a test for both Mr Anwar and Muhyiddin in their ability to keep their respective parties together and to rally support from their party faithful.

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However, the analysts added that they do not believe that leadership changes are to be expected at the PKR or Bersatu conventions, although both leaders can expect criticism from their support bases on how certain issues have been handled.

Bersatu’s convention began on Thursday with the assemblies of its youth and women’s wings. Its party president, Muhyiddin, will deliver a speech on Friday. Meanwhile, PKR’s convention over the weekend will start with its youth and women congresses before Mr Anwar is set to deliver a speech late on Saturday at the party’s central national congress.

ANWAR MAY BE QUIZZED ABOUT LACK OF REFORMS

Ms Bridget Welsh, an honorary research fellow of the University of Nottingham Malaysia's Asia Research Institute, said that the PKR convention would be about Mr Anwar doubling down on his brand of leadership. 

“What we saw was a party that was divided between him and (deputy president) Rafizi (Ramli). Rafizi is in a much weaker position than he was comparatively speaking beforehand.

“We will see if Anwar is able to accommodate some of the differences and also to deal with some of the grassroots within the party who are unhappy with a lack of reform of his administration,” she said.

Electoral watchdog Bersih previously said in a statement that some of these reforms include the separation of power for public prosecutor and attorney general, the reform of the public appointment process vetted by a special parliamentary committee, the introduction of a Political Funding Act and the repeal of laws considered draconian, such as the Sedition Act.

Ms Welsh, however, said that the stakes are lesser now as it is mostly an internal affair within the party, with Mr Anwar having the advantage of being the prime minister.

“So, the stakes are nowhere near as high. It’s really (about) making sure conflicts within the party stay within the party and Anwar is basically given the boost that he needs because his performance nationally is mixed,” she said.

Earlier this week, survey results by independent pollster Merdeka Center found that Mr Anwar’s approval rating had taken a hit one year after he assumed office.

Political analyst Dr Sivamurugan Pandian of University Sains Malaysia (USM) said the convention marks Mr Anwar’s one year as prime minister and may be a platform for him to consolidate support.

Dr Sivamurugan believes that Mr Anwar may use the PKR convention to tell his supporters and the public that adjustments to the supposed reforms had to be made because he did not receive the sole mandate from last year’s election.

Mr Anwar was sworn in as prime minister on Nov 24 last year after the 15th General Election (GE15) failed to produce a clear winner and resulted in a hung parliament.

PKR is a component of the Pakatan Harapan coalition together with the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah).

Mr Anwar now leads a unity government comprising PH, previous ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Parti Warisan (Warisan).

“He has to tell the public he can’t fulfil all the promises because this is a new government that has to consider similarities with the other coalitions,” Dr Sivamurugan told CNA.

Another issue that could crop up at the convention is the supposed dissatisfaction of non-Malay PKR politicians who felt sidelined in the party. 

It was reported by Free Malaysia Today that an anonymous non-Malay PKR assemblyman said there was dissatisfaction among Chinese and Indian members as they were not nominated for posts on the executive councils of Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, which are led by PH.

In response, PKR vice-president Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said that the party was willing to listen to the voices of leaders and members to ensure no one felt sidelined.  

Dr Sivamurugan noted that Mr Anwar enjoys more non-Malay support compared to the Malays and that he had to relook at how he could increase the support of the latter. 

Agreeing, Dr Jeniri Amir - a senior fellow with the National Professors Council -  said that Mr Anwar has to be seen as striking a balance by trying not to offend the non-Malays but at the same time has to be seen as fighting for the rights of the Malays and Muslims.

“You must bear in mind that the number of Malay seats in the Peninsular is a lot of the seats. He cannot just depend on the non-Malays but at the same time he cannot be too pro-Malay also,” said Dr Jeniri.

He added: “The challenge now is to fulfil the pledges in the manifesto.”

MUHYIDDIN TO FACE SCRUTINY ON MP DEFECTIONS

On the other hand, the situation might be more complex for Muhyiddin at the Bersatu convention as he has several issues to deal with, including leadership transition within the party.   

Analysts told CNA that Muhyiddin - who is the party president - will have the unenviable task of explaining the situation and circumstances that led four Members of Parliament (MPs) to state their support for Mr Anwar.

The four are Labuan MP Suhaili Abdul Rahman, Kuala Kangsar MP Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid, Gua Musang MP Azizi Abu Naim, and Jeli MP Zahari Kechik.

While all four said they would remain loyal to Bersatu, they were supporting Mr Anwar so that they could secure allocations for their respective constituencies. 

Bersatu has already suspended Mr Iskandar and Mr Suhaili for four and six years respectively,  while the other two parliamentarians have been referred to the party’s disciplinary committee. 

Dr Jeniri told CNA that it was very important for Muhyiddin to ensure that Bersatu is stabilised and that the members have confidence that no more parliamentarians will switch their support.    

“He has to send a strong message to the political leadership in Bersatu. It is important that no more MPs will switch support as this will dent the image of the leadership of Bersatu,” he said.

Ms Welsh contends that Bersatu is also facing a potential split within the party as the contenders to replace Muhyiddin – secretary-general Hamzah Zainuddin and supreme council member Azmin Ali – are taking very different tacts to garner support.

Ms Welsh added that three main issues for Bersatu this time were keeping the party together, the leadership transition, and a recalibration of its relationship with Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS).

Bersatu is part of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition with PAS and Parti Gerakan Rakyat (Gerakan).

“We will see that the focus is on the erosion of different members of Bersatu to support Anwar’s government and the split within the party. This will be a very important issue for Muhyiddin to address.

“The other questions of leadership transition and the overall relationship within the PN coalition are likely only to be touched at the surface levels. What’s really at stake for Muhyiddin is whether the party can still be a major player in the national stage and basically maintain its integrity as a party,” said Ms Welsh.

Many observers have positioned PAS as the principal party for the Malays in Malaysia, in place of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). 

Separately, Dr Sivamurugan said there would be those who would want Bersatu to review its constitution to prevent any more parliamentarians from switching their support.

He added that improving the ties at the grassroots among PN component parties was also important as there were some in Bersatu who were not satisfied when it came to working together with PAS.

“Maybe the top leaders are working closely but it is how to improve this at a lower level,” said Dr Sivamurugan. 

According to a recent report by The Star, the grassroots of both parties are shunning one another following disagreements over strategy and cooperation during the campaigning for the state polls in August and by-elections this year.

GRANDSTANDING AT CONVENTIONS: EXPERT

Analysts told CNA they do not have much expectations from the PKR or the Bersatu party conventions.

“They are basically not going to resolve the internal problems within the parties and not really doing (anything) to redefine or strengthen their parties vis a vis the electorate,” said Ms Welsh.

She added: “What will be interesting to watch (is) if anything comes from the floor and how these positions are articulated or if they are orchestrated performances to support the various leaders.”

Dr Jeniri, meanwhile, believed that there is a lot of grandstanding at these conventions and that the noise will die down after a few days.

“I don’t expect much from these conventions. After a few days, the steam is gone for any political party. It’s common,” he said.