An analyst says the appointment of PKR‘s new strategic director and several state chiefs is aimed at facilitating the party’s workflow, as they are more aligned with the top leadership.
Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia cited the appointments of PKR strategic director Sim Tze Tzin, replacing Akmal Nasir, as well as Dr Zaliha Mustafa as Johor PKR chief, taking over from Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh.
Akmal and Syed Ibrahim were running mates with Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli in the PKR elections in May, which saw Rafizi losing the party’s deputy presidency.
“Syed Ibrahim also attended Rafizi’s press conference on the judicial appointments issue.
“So this new line-up of leaders could be said to be more on the same page with the top leadership of the party,” Mazlan told FMT.
Other appointments announced yesterday included Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s senior political secretary, Shamsul Iskandar Akin, as Melaka PKR chief, and Ahmad Farhan Fauzi, another political aide to Anwar, taking over as Pahang PKR head.
Tawfik Yaakub of Universiti Malaya said the changes were a normal matter for any party after undergoing internal elections.
He said such steps were necessary to revamp and strengthen the party, especially ahead of a series of elections, starting with the Sabah polls this year and eventually the 16th general election in several years’ time.
Also due in the coming years are the Sarawak, Melaka, and Johor state elections.
Tawfik said Sim’s appointment could help PKR formulate holistic strategies for the polls, not only focusing on Malay support but also giving non-Malay leaders a bigger role.
He added that Shamsul and Farhan’s appointments were unsurprising given their government positions.
“This can ease communications from the PKR president (Anwar) to the state chiefs,” he said.
