JOHOR BARU: A Johor PKR lawmaker has started the new year by urging his party to make early preparations for the 16th General Election (GE16) in order to regain its strength.
In his analysis, Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim said PKR’s performance in GE15 (in 2022) was unsatisfactory compared to GE14 (2018).
The party won 49 parliamentary seats in GE14 and lost 18 of those seats in GE15.
"PKR lost badly in the northern and east-coast states such as Kangar in Perlis, Kedah’s Kulim Bandar Baru, Merebok, Kuala Kedah, Padang Serai and Alor Setar. With the exception of Alor Setar, the lost seats were contested by Malay candidates.
"The same can be said for PKR’s performance in Penang where for the first time, the party stronghold seat of Permatang Pauh, contested by (Prime Minister and PKR president) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s daughter Nurul Izzah, fell," he said in a statement on Jan 1.
Hassan mentioned that the party did not fare well in Selangor, also once a stronghold state with a PKR mentri besar for three terms since 2008.
It was a blow when the party lost two seats - Kuala Langat and Kapar - that had been long thought of as invulnerable seats. Both seats fell to Perikatan Nasional’s candidates who were medical doctors from PAS, he added.
Moving on to Pahang, Hassan said PKR won and retained the parliamentary seats of Kuantan and Indra Mahkota since 2008 but failed to defend both seats in GE15.
"The party’s worst record in Terengganu and Kelantan has carried on until today where we lost all seats contested in the two states in GE15.
"In the 1999 general election, PKR, which was then known as Parti Keadilan Nasional, won three Kelantan seats - Kota Baru, Ketereh and Tanah Merah - while in Terengganu, we won Kemaman.
"This downward trend has trickled down to Melaka, where we lost the Tangga Batu seat to PAS, as well as Ranau, Putatan and Tawau (Sabah) and Selangau, Saratok and Puncak Borneo (Sarawak)," he said.
He noted that Negri Sembilan performed relatively well by defending the Port Dickson seat and attributed the victory to candidate Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun, who was also state mentri besar.
"It was only in Johor that PKR did well by defending the seven seats won in GE14 which are Segamat, Ledang, Sekijang, Batu Pahat, Johor Baru, Tebrau and Pasir Gudang," he said, adding that the party still could not win over the Sembrong and Tenggara seats.
"Although the list of fallen seats is quite long, PKR must wrestle them back in efforts to strengthen the party, worthy of Anwar as Prime Minister.
"Capable and experienced candidates such as Nurul Izzah should lead the efforts as she is charismatic and has 'prime minister material' like former Pakistan prime minister Benanzir Bhutto and former Indonesian president Megawati Soekarnoputri," he said.
The Pasir Gudang MP went on to say that party deputy president Rafizi Ramli and vice-president Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad should also be brave and take risks by contesting in their home states of Terengganu and Kelantan respectively.
"The party must realise that Anwar is the leader of the unity government and Pakatan Harapan because of the 31 PKR seats he commands.
"If we are not ready with a powerful strategy to face GE16, there is a possibility that PKR will lose 50% of the seats, leaving us with only 15 seats. By then, do you think there will be any political parties that are willing to support Anwar as Prime Minister for a second term?," he added.
