The problem with calling Anwar '8th PM' - Tian Chua

PKR vice-president Chua Tian Chang is concerned about a “mischievous” campaign within the party that is pressuring Anwar Ibrahim to be installed as the next prime minister.

In his view, only Pakatan Harapan leaders get to decide on their leader, not party members or the rakyat.

Furthermore, such talk pits Anwar against the present Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and could be seen as an attempt to pressure the coalition.

Speaking to Malaysiakini following the recent eventful PKR congress, Chua, better known as Tian Chua, furrowed his brow when reminded of how delegates had held up placards calling Anwar “the eighth PM”.

“That is something which we reject, it is mischievous...

“When people think about (who they want as) the eighth PM, this means you cast doubt on Harapan’s decision-making process. (Despite) whatever that has been decided, now you need to put pressure, you need to mobilise...

“When it will happen, how it will happen, that is the Harapan leadership’s decision. You don’t need to wave a placard to decide that,” he said when interviewed at his office at the Malaysia Productivity Corporation in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

Next PM not up to the public

Chua gave a non-committal answer when asked if PKR was united over the idea of having its president as the next prime minister.

In a parliamentary democracy like Malaysia, he stressed that voters get to choose a party or coalition but not the prime minister per se.

It is then up to the winning party to decide its leader.

“How we want to arrange our leadership, that is none of the rest of the country’s problem, really...

“If Anwar is agreed by Harapan, he will take it (the post of PM) when Harapan is ready. It has got nothing to do with the whole public. Then, if Harapan decides that Anwar’s time is up (and) there will be another person, then it will be another person,” Tian Chua said.

Prior to GE14, Harapan had promised to install Mahathir as an “interim” prime minister and said he would hand the role over to Anwar after an undefined “reasonable time frame”.

However, since winning the election, the transition has become the subject of much conjecture.

Mahathir has refused to name a handover date, despite repeatedly vowing to fulfil his promise to step aside for his former political nemesis.

This is complicated by the fact that within the deeply fractured PKR, Anwar’s estranged deputy, Azmin Ali, has been backing Mahathir to serve out a full term as prime minister.

For Tian Chua, a known Azmin ally, such a fixation on political personalities fuels a “dynastic discourse” which distracts people from policy discussions.

It also impedes Harapan from being able to present itself as a “long-term” solution to the country’s woes.

“It is not only (about) a succession between Mahathir and Anwar. The people are also looking into (whether) Harapan has layers of leaders to offer, so that there will be long-term stability”, he said.

Blind praise makes PKR Umno 2.0

Aside from the campaign declaring Anwar as the next PM, the recently concluded party congress was also marked by a high level of hostility between the two warring factions.

This manifested in physical confrontations, walkouts and even a breakaway dinner event.

Despite the president’s call for a ceasefire, many speeches demanded that party “traitors” - understood to refer to Azmin’s followers - be expelled.

Tian Chua, who was himself the subject of jeers during the congress, observed that a growing number of delegates and grassroots members were professing blind allegiance to leaders.

He warned that PKR could morph into an “Umno 2.0” if this was not nipped in the bud.

“Now, if there is a group of delegates who only think about how to (praise) the leadership and cannot tolerate disagreement, and any form of disagreement is treacherous...

“The real Umno 2.0 is when you come to a congress (and) you only know how to praise the leaders,” he said.

The veteran reformasi activist said it was up to leaders like him to speak out against such developments to ensure the party stayed true to its commitment to reform. - Mkini

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