From The Edge Daily

by Pauline Puah

KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) can look back to an eventful year as it convenes its fifth AGM this weekend.

As delegates head for the AGM, managing the party’s unexpected success and its relationship with coalition partners would be among its top priorities.

The loose coalition galvanised and now led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, performed very well at the March 8 elections. Although the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) was unable to form the federal government, it now has control of five states.

Anwar’s impressive victory in the Permatang Pauh by-election on Aug 26 strengthened the party’s belief that he would be the country’s next premier, and expectations were high when he set Sept 16 as the deadline for wresting power from Barisan Nasional (BN).

But when the deadline passed with BN still in control of parliament, doubts began to creep in. The affairs of the five PR state governments also began to draw greater media interest.

The PAS-led Kedah government’s new housing policy requiring developers to increase the bumiputera quota to 50% from 30% caused a stir in the coalition.

In PKR-led Selangor, PAS openly opposed Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s choice of Low Siew Moi as acting head of the Selangor Development Corporation (PKNS).

Earlier, PKR’s Kulim MP Zulkifli Nordin made headlines when he protested against a Bar Council forum on Muslim conversion.

The series of events unsettled PR supporters, increasing doubts that fundamental differences between the component parties could ever be reconciled.

“The glue that holds them (coalition partners) together is Anwar Ibrahim,” said Dr Ariffin Omar, an associate professor of political science at Universiti Utara Malaysia.

However, Anwar’s inability to wrest power from the BN had compromised the position of PR coalition members, he told The Edge Financial Daily recently.

“He has contributed to their dilemma, as now they have to face the reality that their only hope of knocking out the BN will come at the next election. It’s only hope, not (a) guarantee. They are only united because of a common enemy in BN, not a common ideology,” he said.

Former PAS Selangor deputy commissioner Khalid Samad said Anwar was an important element in PR’s formation, especially at the initial stage of bridging the gap between PAS and DAP.

He argued that the sentiment of anti-Malay nationalism has become mainstream thinking in the Islamist party. “We can pray together with Umno members in mosques, but we have more in common with PKR and DAP (members) in terms of governance and administration,” he said.

Khalid, however, recognised that the PR needed a better coordination mechanism. “We have to thrash out issues. We were caught by surprise by the March 8 victory. Straight away we had to jump onto a moving train and shift into high gear,” he said.

The Shah Alam MP, who lost his party post last week, said PR’s future would not be dependent on Anwar alone.

“People would like to imagine that we have a lot of differences or this is a marriage of convenience. This is not the case, in terms of philosophy, we have more similarities with DAP and PKR than Umno. We are not as fragile as some would like to believe,” he said.

Nonetheless, he said PR should be given more time to build better understanding and a stronger bond.

But Ariffin is not as optimistic. He said Anwar’s outstanding achievement had been to cobble the three parties together to face the BN in the March elections.

“His moment is over, and these parties must move beyond Anwar Ibrahim. To succeed they must at least have some agreements on the nation’s future path and the shaping of its society,” he said.

DAP strategist Liew Chin Tong said he believed Anwar is a prime mover in PR’s attempt to form the federal government. “Persuading the people that we could be the government is a totally different thing. Anwar has the charisma, persuasive power and administrative experience,” he said.

Liew said he was “cautiously optimistic” over the future of the PR. He reasoned that a lot of leaders in the coalition today, including himself, would not have been full-time politicians if not for the 1998 Reformasi movement that changed the political landscape.

“Today the PR is definitely much stronger than Barisan Alternative (BA). It’s no longer Anwar himself. When he was sacked in 1998, there was not much contact between PAS and DAP leaders. Today we have been through BA and Bersih and we also meet very often inside and outside parliament,” said Liew, who is MP for Bukit Bendera.

The BA also comprised PKR, DAP and PAS. It was a loose coalition formed in the wake of 1999 general election. DAP pulled out of the coalition due to its disagreement with PAS over the Islamic state issue.

Liew said PR coalition parties have to rely on one another to stay in power in the five states.

“Today, if any party pulls out of a state government, that is the end of the state government. So this is a situation where although we may not be happy with each other, we have to co-exist and accommodate each other,” he said.