Is PKR a sinking ship with shrinking lawmakers, membership post Lee Chean Chung’s departure?

FAR from hinting that his party is staring at a doomsday scenario, PKR’s chief commander Datuk Sri Anwar Ibrahim has downplayed the stepping down of Lee Chean Chung as Petaling Jaya MP by insisting that such move is appropriate given the former has been an active member foe a year.

The cynical tone is one that the three-year suspension from PKR meted out on Lee who is slant to the so-called Rafizi block is justified given that he has not attended party meetings for a year or showed up for the party’s congress in August.

“If he’s no longer interested (in the party), it’s not a problem. We part ways on good terms,” the Prime Minister apparently told the media after visiting the air force quarters in Sungai Besi yesterday (Oct 2). “I want to thank him for his contributions.”

Truth be told, the former two-term Semambu (Pahang) state assemblyman is widely expected to follow footstep of Subang MP Wong Chen by eventually exiting PKR to ‘cross over’ to the Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli-led BERSAMA.

Recall that Lee alongside Wong and their Ampang comrade Rodziah Ismail had been dubbed as “Anak Tiri Peruntukan” (literally, “Funding Stepchild”) club given the trio had had their MyKhas online funding access blocked – a move believed to be linked to their appereance at the BERSAMA party launch on May 17.

Looking back, Lee has over the past three months exposed deemed sensitive issues which ultimately became talk of the town, namely (i) restrictions guidelines for religious houses of worship in Selangor; and (ii) 30% Bumiputera equity for tuition centres.

“His exposures embarrassed PH (Pakatan Harapan) and exposed racism of Anwar,” jibed self-proclaimed independent analyst and Madani critic Yang Gor Condor Returns (@YangGorHero) on X.

Raising sensitive issues

Former two-term DAP lawmaker Jeff Ooi (Jelutong and Bayam Baru) wondered if Lee’s departure would rock the PKR/PH boat in the near-term with the 16th General Election (GE16) within sight.

“Does ‘diminishing numbers’ also mean ‘diminishing returns’ for PH by GE16?” he penned on X.

From the start of the 15th Parliament in 2022, PH has gone from 81 MP seats to 75 now”

1) Two from UPKO pulled out before the Sabah state election in December 2025.

2) Four resigned from PKR in 2026:

  • May 17: Rafizi Ramli (Pandan)
  • May 17: Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (Setiawangsa)
  • Aug 10: Wong Chen (Subang)
  • Oct 5: Lee Chean Chung (Petaling Jaya)

Meantime, DAP retains all 40 MPs and Amanah retains all eight. PKR has gone from 31 to 27.

In the latest development, Lee has taken a swipe at PKR deputy secretary-general Bryan Ng Yih Miin for “deflecting to attendance factor in MBPJ (Petaling Jaya City Council)” to undermine the former.

“His statement doesn’t answer a single policy issue I raised. Instead, it counts how many times a MP attended MBPJ meetings,” he rebutted the PJ City councillor.

An MP isn’t a member of MBPJ. We’re invited as observers … My primary arena is the Dewan Rakyat, parliamentary committees and engagement with ministries. That’s where the voice of PJ is carried to the federal level.

A city councillor, on the other hand, is appointed specifically to sit, scrutinise, debate and vote in MBPJ. That’s his core duty.

Of the array of brickbats retuned at Ng, Lee “welcomes a contest of records, not personal attacks”.

“Disclose your attendance and voting record on PJD Link (Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link) and SIP (Selangor Intelligent Parking). State your party’s position on PJD Link, SIP and the RCI (Royal Commission of Inquiry) on the corporate mafia,” he chided.

“Then let the PJ folks judge.” – Oct 3, 2026

 

Main image credit: Ts. Hisam Sumiry 🇲🇾🇵🇸 (@HisamSumiry)/X

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