As silver jubilee looms, MP poses questions on PKR's post-Anwar future

As silver jubilee looms, MP poses questions on PKR's post-Anwar future

Published: Apr 15, 2024 10:00 AM
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Updated: 12:52 PM


Ahead of the 25th-anniversary celebrations of Parti Keadilan Nasional’s founding, PKR’s Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim has asked if party members could identify candidates to replace Anwar Ibrahim when the time comes.

In a lengthy statement detailing the party’s history, he called on the leaders and more than one million members of PKR to reflect on the strength of their party by answering six questions:

1) How can PKR and Pakatan Harapan overcome the constraints to implement the reform agenda in a government made up of 19 political parties?

2) How would PKR and Harapan face challenges as a moderate multi-racial political party in a climate of narrow racial and religious identity politics when the 16th general election comes along?

3) What are the efforts and strategies of PKR and Harapan to increase the support of Malay-Muslim voters in favour of the Madani government led by Anwar?

4) Is the support of the Chinese, Indian, and native communities in Sabah and Sarawak still firmly behind PKR and Harapan?

5) To what extent is the administrative record of the federal government satisfactory enough that the people are prepared to continue to support the government led by Anwar in the next general election?

6) Specific to over a million PKR members, are they ready to prepare candidates to replace Anwar as party president and the future prime minister of Malaysia when the time comes for him to step down?

Hassan asked these questions noting that on April 21, a special convention will take place at IDCC Shah Alam, Selangor to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the party’s establishment.


25 years since PKN’s founding

“Within a quarter of a century, PKR has experienced ups and downs as a national political party starting with the establishment of Parti Keadilan Nasional (PKN) on April 4, 1999 at the Renaissance Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

“PKN was initially supported by several factions. Among them were supporters of Anwar from Umno such as Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Azmin Ali, Fauzi Abdul Rahman, and Mustapha Kamil Ayub, to name just a few.

Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim


“PKN was also supported by youth organizations and Islamic NGOs such as Abim and some prominent Islamic leaders such as Dr Sidek Fadhil, Dr Mohd Nor Manuty, and Fuziah Salleh,” he recalled, adding that several intellectuals and human rights activists were also involved in the early stages such as Chandra Muzaffar, Tian Chua, Irene Fernandez, and Elizabeth Wong.

He pointed out that the party took its current name and form in 2003 when it merged with Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) and formed a new political party known as Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

“PRM was a national political party established in 1955 and is the legal heir of the Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM) and the Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya (PKMM) which firmly and consistently fought for the independence of Malaya from British colonialism.

“PRM under the leadership of Syed Husin Ali, Abdul Razak Ahmad, Sanusi Osman, and Rustam Sani welcomed the idea for PKN and PRM to merge into a multiracial political party for all Malaysians,” said Hassan, who himself served as secretary general and vice-president of PRM.

Hassan was part of a small group that eventually challenged the merger and revived PRM in 2005, serving as PRM president for four years until 2009 before he rejoined PKR.

“During this challenging 25-year period, Anwar as the leader of the party has gone through a very bitter and heavy test by having to go in and out of prison for fighting for the reform agenda in the face of three BN prime ministers, namely Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and Najib Abdul Razak.

“The party, as a political organisation and machinery for the reform struggle initiated by Anwar, has undergone a qualitative transformation from a mass organisation of the people in the streets to forming the backbone of several state governments in Selangor, Penang, and Perak starting in 2008,” said Hassan.

He then detailed the party’s national victory in 2018 as part of the Harapan coalition that included Bersatu, DAP, and Amanah.

“But at that time, Anwar was still in prison.

“Harapan’s victory in GE14 followed by the release of Anwar opened up space and opportunities for PKR and Harapan in GE15, five years later in November 2022, to once again form the federal government in Putrajaya and, this time, Anwar was elected as the 10th prime minister of Malaysia,” he said.