IN PKR’s recent divisional elections, several high-profile figures, including ministers like Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Deputy Minister K Saraswathy, lost their bids.
This signals grassroots dissatisfaction with their performance as ministers and MPs. Analysts are divided on the reasons behind the results.
Some see these recent election losses as a grassroots demand for new, capable leadership, while others argue that the defeats stem from internal factional conflicts rather than poor performance, suggesting that candidates lost due to their association with unpopular party factions.
PKR vice-president Nik Nazmi lost the Setiawangsa divisional chief position in the party’s internal elections. He was defeated by actor-comedian Afdlin Shauki.
Nik Nazmi expressed concerns about the election’s integrity on Facebook, emphasising the need for a transparent and fair process. He plans to raise issues through official party channels.
On the other hand, PKR’s Central Leadership Council will hold an urgent meeting on Wednesday to address alleged irregularities in the party’s ongoing divisional elections, prompted by a request from over 20 MPP members, exceeding the one-third threshold required by the party constitution.
The divisional polls, running from April 11 to April 20, 2025, have faced issues, with several factions winning committee seats but their leaders losing division head contests.
This unusual trend, termed “body without a head,” affected prominent figures like Gan Ay Ling, Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik, and Rodziah Ismail, raising concerns about the integrity of PKR’s internal electoral process. —Apr 20, 2025
Main image: Malay Mail
