Two PKR Leaders Woo Grassroots on Separate Tours Across Malaysia

Battle for position of deputy president will shape trajectory of lead ruling party

- Hazlin Hassan

IPOH, Malaysia - Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has chosen Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to continue as party president, but the heart of the battle for Malaysia's lead ruling party lies in how the rank and file view its reform agenda, and the compromises made to hold together a disparate coalition of strange bedfellows.

In the lead-up to PKR's May 23 internal elections, its two prominent leaders, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli and party vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar, have embarked on separate nationwide tours to whip up grassroots support and shape the party's future leadership.

Datuk Seri Rafizi, 47, is defending his position as PKR deputy president through his Jelajah Hiruk (Noisy Tour), engaging with party members at nine locations across Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak. He is using the word "hiruk" as the short form for "hidupkan idealisme reformasi dalam ujian kuasa" in the Malay language, which means "reviving the idealism of reform while in power".

Mr Rafizi hopes to fire up party members to return to PKR's reform credentials, amid criticisms that it has abandoned many of its reform promises.

"This contest is about preserving the soul of the party and making sure that whatever is the outcome, I think I advocate taking a much longer view about the party's survival," Mr Rafizi told reporters after his rally in Ipoh, Perak, on May 18.

From Ipoh to Seremban, and on to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, Mr Rafizi told party members to return to PKR's core values.