SHAH ALAM - The PKR polls that took place peacefully are clear evidence that the party has eliminated the warlord culture after the cleanup of cartel supporters of the party’s former Deputy President Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
PKR vice-presidential candidate Datuk Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid said the entire 1.2 million PKR members also accepted the fact that President Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is now the main leader in PKR that they need to abide by.
He further explained that the party has learned from the effects of the PKR election for the 2018-2022 term, where the existence of many warlords who control the party caused PKR to face serious internal divisions.
As a result, he was confident that if every member understood the party’s agenda and abided by the PKR president’s recommendation, then the party would not face the problem of splitting up even if the election process was held before the 15th General Election (GE15).
"The main key behind the party’s smooth election process and the lesser fight were due to the eradication of warlord culture and now we have only one warlord which is Anwar.
"With every member understanding the party’s struggle policy and abiding by the president’s recommendation, no major problems arise although many expect PKR to risk facing serious divisions following the determination to hold party elections before GE15.
"Obviously, PKR does not want to create warlords, instead the election process this time will be used to produce the best leadership to help the president, besides eliminating the remnants of the party’s traitors,” he told Sinar Premium on Sunday.
He was commenting on the development of the PKR election process for the term 2022 to 2025 which took place from May 13 to May 22.
For the first time, the voting process for the PKR election was held in a hybrid manner where party members could choose whether to vote physically in all 222 branches or vote online through the ADIL application.
Commenting on the opportunity to win the PKR Vice President post, Abdullah Sani who is also the Kapar MP described the matter as not a priority, instead all PKR members need to work together to strengthen the party to face GE15.
Although 17 candidates were contesting for the post of PKR Vice President, he did not see the matter as threatening the party’s harmony as all candidates were aware that the party’s need to fill the post was critical.
"Even if these candidates lose in the party election, that is not a problem because the party will ensure that no issue of potential leaders will be left out in the future.
"I am confident that the president’s wisdom to handle party issues and ensure harmonious relations among PKR members is always preserved,” he said.
Meanwhile, another PKR vice-presidential candidate Chang Ming Kai was of the view that the PKR election this time shows the maturity of 1.2 million party members to elect a stronger, new leadership.
He said this as he saw groups of PKR grassroots supporters were no longer tied to the ‘cai’ leadership list introduced for every party election process.
"The party’s election system this time no longer depends on the ‘cai’ list of leaders set for each camp, instead the list changes according to the state and the needs of voters for each branch.
"I think not naming leaders in the ‘cai’ leadership list of a particular camp is the best.
"This is important so that the leadership line-up appointed after the PKR election is a strong team and prioritises the party’s agenda,” said the Alor Setar MP.