KUALA LUMPUR – Anwar Ibrahim-led Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has purged MPs associated with former PKR deputy president Azmin Ali from its candidate line-up for Malaysia’s 15th General Election (GE15) released on Friday.
In what party president Anwar said was a “tough” decision, several incumbent MPs were replaced by younger candidates in the name of renewal.
At least four MPs said to be close to Mr Azmin, but who did not leave with him when he defected from PKR in February 2020, have been ditched from the party’s GE slate.
Mr Azmin, a prime mover in the infamous Sheraton Move that saw MPs from PKR and coalition partner Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia defect from Pakatan Harapan (PH), was branded a traitor for toppling the then ruling PH government that year.
Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah, 66, has been replaced in the line-up by Mr Lee Chean Chung, 41, a two-term Pahang assemblyman aligned to PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli.
The latter has hailed Mr Lee as the energetic, “highly educated Chinese” that the party needs to field in Petaling Jaya.
Sungai Buloh MP and former party president R. Sivarasa, 65, was replaced by PKR deputy information chief Ramanan Ramakrishnan, 41, who runs a construction-related business.
Selangor Chief Minister Amirudin Shari will face off against Datuk Seri Azmin, who has held the Gombak seat for three terms formerly under the PKR ticket.
Alor Gajah PKR’s request to field its division chief Ginie Lim in the election was also denied. The PKR central leadership had stopped her from defending her Machap Jaya state seat at the 2021 Malacca polls, which led to an uproar among the party’s grassroots.
“It was not easy dropping several MPs who have been loyal and close friends for decades and replacing them with new people who are untested,” Mr Anwar said at a PKR event in Ampang on Friday, before announcing the party’s 72 election candidates for Peninsular Malaysia.
He added that dropping these candidates was “good” for the party and the country.
PKR candidates for Sabah and Sarawak are slated to be announced early next week.
Former PKR vice-president Tian Chua was also disappointed in his bid to stand again in Batu, after being barred from running in the 2018 election on the grounds that he had been fined RM2,000 (S$600) in 2010.
Mr P. Prabakaran, 26, who won the seat as an independent candidate that year and joined PKR subsequently, is being fielded.
Mr Chua slammed Mr Anwar’s move to drop and switch PKR candidates as shuffling MPs “like cards”, saying this could hurt the party’s grassroots and frustrate voters.
While conceding that there is no perfect system in selecting candidates, he warned that many people were “disappointed” over the candidate list, and the party cannot afford to ignore voters’ reactions ahead of the election.
“One of the core criteria for choosing candidates is the ability to build strong connections with the constituency,” he said on Facebook on Friday.
When asked about this by reporters, Mr Anwar replied that it was important to give the younger generation an opportunity to contest in the upcoming election, although the party has experienced MPs that have been supportive and loyal.
“I would like to emphasise to Mr Chua that we still need the support of these senior politicians to guide the youth in the party. Otherwise, the younger generation will not be able to come up the ranks,” he said.
