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SHAH ALAM – The PKR national congress this weekend has undoubtedly seen all attention drawn towards whether party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his newly elected deputy Rafizi Ramli could strike a conciliatory tone.
As tensions grew in the lead-up to the event, the relationship between the two party bigwigs appeared to have soured even more on the convention’s first day, but its conclusion today had seemingly allayed concerns about their incompatibility as a team.
And although tensions appeared to be remedied for now, no one can be blamed for having a healthy dose of scepticism. Could the “unity” displayed at the congress indeed be translated into reality off the stage?
No rift between Anwar and Rafizi… or is there?
When Anwar, accompanied by party adviser Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and leaders aligned to him, held a presser to wrap up the first day of the congress yesterday evening, there was one glaring omission – Rafizi and his backers.
The reason for this – whether it was a mere coincidence or a deliberate move to exclude the former Pandan MP and his team – was unclear, but the telltale signs of a rift were not abated when Rafizi was dropped from delivering his winding-up speech, along with other newly elected leaders.
However, in a dramatic turn of events this morning, all incoming and outgoing top office bearers were allowed to deliver speeches after an eleventh-hour arrangement.
The theatrics, however, appear to have only been a minor episode, as Anwar and Rafizi delivered their winding-up speeches today in a united and cheery tone, and both were occasionally seen bantering with each other.
Are the clapbacks more than meets the eye?
While it seems that both Rafizi and Anwar traded fiery words throughout the convention, there is certainly more than meets the eye.
If we paid close enough attention to their messages, we would come to realisation that Anwar’s and Rafizi’s words were not directed at each other – but at their respective supporters instead.
In his typical combative fashion, Rafizi did not mince words as he addressed the crowd and spoke to the media, hitting out against party members seemingly bent on defending and “brown-nosing” their leader Anwar.
Rafizi slammed the Anwar loyalists who felt the need to “coddle” the latter to the point that the Port Dickson MP was an “untouchable” leader, saying this “can’t be the way” and that he “can’t play that role.”
Meanwhile, Anwar, too, had followed suit and defended Rafizi to a certain degree during his winding-up speech this afternoon.
Holding Rafizi in high regard, Anwar took a dig at some of the delegates, calling them “dense” for not seeing that both party leaders shared a common struggle.
“It is true we may have different opinions and strong views, but he is not a traitor. We are here to fight the thieves and the corrupt. Focus your attention on that.”
Finding middle ground on the ‘big tent’ approach
Having cast aside internal strife and infighting as the curtains drew to a close the party congress today, the main stumbling block remains – how will the mentor-protégé duo now come together to find a middle ground on the party’s cooperation with current and past allies?
It is no secret that Anwar is a proponent of the “big tent” approach which means cooperating with opposition parties outside Pakatan Harapan (PH) which are also contesting in the upcoming general election (GE15).
However, Rafizi is a vocal critic of the proposal as he believes it would force PKR to embrace politicians who are viewed unfavourably by the public. Instead, Rafizi’s proposal is that the party should focus on strengthening itself.
Moving forward, all eyes will continue to be trained on Anwar and Rafizi as the party navigates the debate on whether to raise this so-called “big tent”, and whether cooperation would be moderate or completely non-existent.
Nevertheless, PKR also faces an uphill task of inspiring voter confidence and shedding its image as a party that merely harps on corruption cases such as the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal and former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
While olive branches could well be a special ingredient in the culinary art of smoking meat, could the Anwar-Rafizi duo be a recipe for bringing the people’s mandate back to PKR and PH?
What’s almost certain, though, is that fence sitters may not have to wait long to see whether this “magical” partnership will flourish, as the election may come sooner than expected. – The Vibes, July 17, 2022