NEWS ANALYSIS: The worst of PKR is surfacing. At least that's what observers are saying about the ongoing mudslinging between supreme council member Zaid Ibrahim and vice-president Azmin Ali. While it is tipped that four contestants will join the race for PKR's deputy presidency come party polls in November, Zaid and Azmin are regarded as the top contenders.
Both factions have accused each other of sly tactics as campaigning intensifies and observers believe that the newly introduced direct elections will bring to surface the "real face" of PKR.
Fomer Umno man Zaid has been the subject of intense personal attacks, and he has blamed Azmin's camp for this. But the latter's supporters have denied the charge.
Since he only joined PKR in 2009, Zaid's decision to vie for the No 2 post has attracted a barrage of online flak, mostly personal attacks.
Zaid himself lamented on his blog about certain forces attemtpting to undermine him and that a blogger was allegedly paid to run him down.
It is understood that the opposition to Zaid's candidacy was due to his bluntness and that his reform ideals were against the established order in PKR and its new obsession of strengthening its Malay spine to capture Putrajaya.
PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim made it clear that the battle for federal power lies in the war to win the hearts and minds of the Malay electorate and the recent revamping of the party structure reflected this.
Sources said the appointment of several loyalists to key party posts was definitely a calculated move and the PKR supremo is adamant about maintaining this framework.
The appointment of Seri Setia assemblyman Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, an Azmin loyalist, as the new communications director is one such example.
This was also reflected in Anwar's tacit endorsement of Youth chief aspirant Rafizi Ramli and his line-up, 80% of whom consist of Anwar and Azmin supporters.
"A good evidence of this is how Nik Nazmi is using his new position to campaign for these candidates," alleged a Zaid supporter.
As such, all leaders and members are expected to endorse the so-called Anwar-Azmin pact, both of whom share a common tactical understanding that PKR must do all it can to penetrate the Malay electorate if it wants to oust Barisan Nasional in the next general election.
Azmin is known to be one of the rare PKR leaders with strong grassroots backing especially from Malay supporters.
Zaid a threat to the pact
Zaid's presence, said party sources, is a direct threat to this pact. When the former law minister urged party members to vote him for "real change", little did he realise that he was stirring a hornet's nest.
Almost immediately, he was accused of being an Umno agent, a Trojan horse sent into PKR to destroy the party.
Zaid also suggested that Anwar "democratically" contest the president post, which a party insider described as a “challenging statement, given that PKR is centred around one man, Anwar Ibrahim”.
The call did not go down well with both Anwar and Azmin's supporters who felt that the “rookie” was out of line.
"This was not the first time Zaid had openly challenged Anwar,” said a Zaid supporter.
“Remember the Zulkifli Noordin issue? Zaid wanted him sacked when Anwar and Azmin felt that such a punishment would be a setback to PKR in terms of winning Malay support,” he added.
Azmin's camp is concerned
Talk is that Azmin's camp is concerned about Zaid's vigorous campaign on the ground and support for him is said to be gaining momentum in his homestate of Kelantan, Kuala Lumpur as well as in Sabah and Sarawak.
Proof of this, party insiders said, is a meeting which took place between Anwar and all division leaders in Kuala Lumpur mid last week.
Although it could not be confirmed, Anwar purportedly instructed the division leaders to endorse Azmin's candidacy.
It is also learnt that Zaid is seeking support from other anti-Azmin factions such as PKR strategic director Tian Chua and vice-president R Sivarasa.
Both Tian Chua and Sivarasa poured cold water on a press conference held yesterday where it was revealed that 18 PKR MPs and two senators were supporting Azmin.
Zaid's camp also questioned the motive behind holding the press conference at the party headquarters in Petaling Jaya, saying that it signalled Anwar's support for Azmin although the opposition leader appeared to be staying out of the fray.
"The press conference was an obvious message to Zaid to stay out," said a party official, who declined to be named.
Meanwhile, FMT learnt that Azmin's camp had shifted into high gear to counter Zaid's campaign.
"We have no choice. We have to go all out against him and we are doing that right now," said an Azmin supporter.
For the neutrals, the noble effort to cultivate a healthy democracy in PKR is turning out to be a bane, with some likening it to the elections in Umno.
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