COMMENT If public sentiment is everything then nothing can succeed or fail without it. Abraham Lincoln believed that those who have public sentiment on their side go deeper than those who enact statutes.
And Mark Twain said that public opinion settles everything, with some thinking it is the voice of God.
In explaining the weaknesses of a party, Russian revolutionary leader Leon Trotsky had said: “In inner-party politics, the party organisation substitutes itself for the party, the central committee substitutes itself for the organisation; and finally, a dictator substitutes himself for the central committee.”
In PKR's case, it's larger-than-life supreme leader Anwar Ibrahim should loosen his grip a little.
He must not campaign for his favourite candidates and should abide by democratic principles to ensure a free and fair party polls in line with his “Reformasi” clarion call.
Instead of playing cheerleader, Anwar should put down his pom-poms and focus on getting the party's act together, starting with fulfilling the promises and pledges made during the last general election. He must also work on strengthening PKR's hold in Selangor, which is slipping.
The sad truth is that there is little time left.
Glory or suicide?
With the intense underlying power play leading up to this November's party elections, many are wondering if the PKR leadership is on the road to glory or in the process of committing hara kiri.
Unless the leadership gets its act together, attempts to undermine candidates and engineer factionalism will only sound the death knell for PKR when the next general election comes.
This is common sense, and PKR leaders, who seem a little oblivious to this, must also wake up to the reality that their party is the weakest link in Pakatan Rakyat.
In the past, political pundits showered Anwar with accolades, calling him the Asian Renaissance Man and Mr Indefatigable among others. But that was during his heydays in Umno, when he was dubbed the new bridesmaid of Malaysian politics and successor to the premiership.
But his fate took a sharp turn in September 1998, and now as opposition leader and PKR's de facto leader, he is not in an enviable position.
For the past two years, Anwar’s leadership in PKR is regarded as being less sure-footed and with few achievements.
On the positive side, he has been credited with cementing the Pakatan coalition and creating closer ties between parties operating on different ideologies.
But on the homefront, PKR is saddled with accusations of little Napoleons running riot, character assassinations and dictatorial favouritism.
This has led the public to ask what is the difference between PKR and Barisan Nasional parties.
In a nutshell, if the PKR leadership continues sailing along this course then it is bound for an iceberg and the party can forget about capturing Putrajaya in the next election.
Some party insiders have accused the PKR leadership of having trouble casting aside its Umno-BN like mindset.
Its power-struggle fatigued leaders have not convinced Malaysians that PKR is capable of charting a roadmap which is better than Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's 1Malaysia.
Instead of vague sloganeering, the PKR leadership should articulate a clear set of policies or give a convincing account of its plan to build a new nation. It must find the momentum for the long build up to the next polls.
The clock is ticking
However, PKR has not been able to display a strong sense of conviction to groom talented leaders, the second and third echeleons within its rank and file.
With most predicting that Anwar will land in jail again, the party's sucession issue continues to be submerged in murky waters.
New entrants with leadership talent should be given the chance to prove their worth and those with potential should be groomed.
PKR should be a reservoir of talented, if not the best, leaders. A mixture of old and new blood must flow through its veins. Party elections should never be a case of winner takes all, loser gets none. But in a party at war with itself, all are losers.
The PKR leadership, which is gripped by the “Anwar factor”, is facing a “zero sum” game unlike its coalition partners PAS and DAP.
Precious time is being wasted, the clock is ticking and accusations of Anwar being a weak leader is piling up. Even during his Umno days, certain quarters had criticised him for being soft on some issues and skirting around hard decisions.
Now until the next general election will be the last mile for PKR and Pakatan to realise its dream of forming federal government.
But one thing is certain, PKR is in need of reformation.
Stanley Koh is a former head of MCA's research unit.
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