PKR polls: Saifuddin's loyalty gives him upper hand

SHAH ALAM - Although the nomination process to choose the top leadership posts in PKR will officially begin May 13, many political watchdogs have deemed the fight for deputy president's post as mellow.

Political observers and analysts perceived that the Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had a bigger advantage in winning the post compared to his contender Rafizi Ramli.

Saifuddin, who was the party's secretary-general, was considered the favourite candidate to win the post as he was a loyal supporter of the party and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim since the era of reformation.

Saifuddin’s influence was big and it has been getting bigger among the party members.

He was seen as the most suitable candidate to replace Anwar in the case where the opposition leader chose to retire from the political arena in the future.

As a former election director and a seasoned PKR member, Saifuddin was seen as an expert in strategic planning and psychological warfare to win the heart and support of more than 1.3 million party members.

Even though Anwar never expressed his support for either nominee gunning for the PKR number two post, he had refused to share the stage with Rafizi during his debate programme with former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Other than that, the ‘big tent’ strategy which proposed the merging of opposition political parties by Saifuddin to elude clashes between them and to defeat Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) in the upcoming election was also supported by Anwar.

Another factor that could help Saifuddin win the post was that many PKR members and leaders were still hurt by Rafizi’s action to take a break from his political career for more than two years after he was defeated by Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali during the party election in 2018.

Rafizi’s action drove his supporters away to support Saifuddin’s leadership which was seen as more matured, experienced and loyal to the party as well as the president despite their losses in four state elections.

Saifuddin also received undevoted support from PKR members and leadership at the grassroots level and the party’s nationwide division who wanted to see the party compete heads-on with Umno and BN in the upcoming election.

However, Saifuddin should not look down on Rafizi has been dubbed as ‘formula expert’ and received support from youths, especially in PKR and followers on social media.

The ball is now in the court of more than 300,000 PKR members and it was up to them to choose their preferred nominee in the upcoming party election which starts on May 13 to May 22.