SHAH ALAM, April 22 — Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) kicked off its 25th anniversary celebrations with a special convention yesterday.
The event, attended by about 5,000 delegates was a reminder of the party’s beginnings rooted in the plight and fight of its president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his subsequent persecution which sparked the ‘reformasi’ movement.
That very movement — in tune with the struggles of the people on the ground — has today led to the rise of the party to government, with Anwar at the helm as its prime minister.
If anything, the special convention was a reminder that the party’s reform work is far from done.
At the same time, it also signified the next phase in the party progression to further strengthening its ties with the people, as it evolves with future generations in mind.
So what lies ahead for PKR as it turns 25? Here are the three main takeaways from the special convention.
Reform work must continue
PKR was established as a reformist party, and so as deputy president Rafizi Ramli said yesterday, its work centred on achieving reforms for the country will never end.
He reminded the party, that even though they are part of the government of the day, it did not mean that its work has ended.
In fact, he said new challenges have emerged with the changing times, an example of which would be the strategies that once worked for PKR — utilisation of alternative and electronic media — was now being copied by the Opposition to a certain degree of success.
There is no time for complacency or to sit back, he added, because like most successful parties, the walls will all come tumbling down, if PKR becomes trapped in a comfort zone.
To ensure reforms continue, the party launched two frameworks: Organisational Empowerment of the Party 25 (POP25) and KEMAS16 that are designed to ensure PKR’s victory in the 16th general election.
Lawan tetap lawan
Back in 2011, when Anwar coined the phrase ‘lawan tetap lawan’ (a fight remains a fight), it was used to described unfairness in the system under a 60-year regime led by Barisan Nasional (BN).
The phrase is still relevant, as according to Anwar, the fight of the day is against corruption, and those who are protecting the corrupters.
He pointed out in his speech yesterday that the “small robbers” and those who are defending the “small robbers” are very much evident.
In his experience, he said this is the first time he was seeing a group of people protecting the “small robbers” and going against efforts to fight corruption.
Hence, his call for the people to never back away from the reformation agenda.
Steady uptick in new recruits, PKR remains close-knit
To date, PKR has managed to recruit 1,153,212 members under the leadership of Anwar.
Based on party data, Selangor had the highest membership count, with a total of 5,770 new recruits.
PAS-led state Kelantan came in second highest with 2,027 new recruits, while Johor also recruited 1,878 new members.
They were followed by Penang and Sabah with 1,400 and 1,115 new member enrolments respectively.
The total tally of new recruits from June 24, 2023 to March 21 this year was 16,529.
According to Rafizi, PKR has managed to prevail all these years due to the party’s strong ties with its members, which he likened to a family that had each other’s despite the struggles of the last 20 years.
Yesterday, party secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail paid tribute to Anwar as the pillar of strength and inspiration for the party.
Saifuddin said, through the party’s toughest times, Anwar remained positive in his advice and message to the party — even when they were conveyed in the form of hand-written letters from prison.
