KUALA LUMPUR – PKR is the nation’s only government party led by figures under the age of 50, making it unique among other political outfits, said party vice president Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
Refuting criticism labelling the Pakatan Harapan (PH) component member as the unity government’s “Achilles heel”, Nik Nazmi pointed to how PKR’s senior leaders are relatively younger than their counterparts in other parties within the federal administration.
“While there’s this long-standing myth of PKR being the weakest link – even during the days of Pakatan Rakyat – I would beg to differ,” Nik Nazmi said as a guest on the Trick Lama podcast.
“If you look at PKR’s senior leadership lineup, (party deputy president) Rafizi Ramli and (PKR Wanita chief) Fadhlina Sidek will only be 47 this year while (vice presidents) Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, Chang Lih Kang and Nurul Izzah Anwar are 44.
“I’m the youngest, at 42.
“You don’t have this in any other party. Maybe in my friend Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s party Muda, but I’m talking about big parties in the ruling government right now…we were pushed into the deep end of the pool at a super young age.”
The podcast session was hosted by the Big Boom Media group editor-in-chief Terence Fernandez, group chief executive Datuk Zainul Arifin, and group executive director Datuk Ahirudin Attan.
The full episode of the podcast session is slated to be released later today.
PKR’s coalition partner in Pakatan Harapan, DAP’s secretary-general Anthony Loke is the party’s sole senior representative under 50, while Amanah’s leadership similarly features elderly leaders.
Leaders from PH’s unity government partner, Barisan Nasional, are also predominantly politicians over 50.
Nik Nazmi, who is also the natural resources and environmental stability minister, pointed to PKR’s Felo Keadilan (PKR Fellows) programme, launched during its 25th-anniversary celebration in April, as one of its initiatives to empower the party’s younger generation of members.
The programme is geared towards party members between the ages of 20 and 40, whether professionals or activists, who are believed to have the ability to further advance the party as future leaders.
Nik Nazmi, who is also Setiawangsa MP and party chief, said members might find it difficult to raise their ranks without the programme as the party has massively expanded since it was founded in 1998 on the back of the Reformasi movement.
“It used to just be 20 people gathered in a mamak shop but now we have about 5,000 members in Setiawangsa itself.
“It’s not so straightforward to rise up, so you need this programme to push through. If not, you’ll just be creating political warlords.”
Responding to accusations of party infighting, Nik Nazmi admitted that while there have been some “incidents” among party figures, different views should be accommodated and celebrated as civil discussions.
Internal cohorts – also known as “cai” – have long been considered an established culture within PKR, with Rafizi and party secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said to be at odds.
Saifuddin had previously denounced being part of any camp during the party’s polls in May 2022, when he lost the race for the deputy president position against Rafizi, whose “cai” supposedly comprised Nurul Izzah and Nik Nazmi, among others.
“People can’t confuse differences of opinion with disunity. We express our views, but it’s very respectful.
“If you look at Rafizi and Saifuddin’s speeches, they’ve mentioned and credited (Anwar), so there’s no issue there,” Nik Nazmi said.
“Rafizi and Saifuddin’s relationship also goes way back. After Rafizi was announced (as PKR deputy president), Saifuddin immediately released a statement congratulating him.
“I’m not saying we’re perfect, nor am I saying we have no differences in opinion, but as far as PKR is concerned, we know we have no excuse…because this is (Anwar’s) government, we have to make this work.
“I can see everyone (within the party) understands this.” – June 20, 2024