Anwar: PKR, Amanah leaders to explore merger proposal
Pakatan Harapan leader Anwar Ibrahim said PKR and Amanah would explore the proposal of a merger.
Although a formal proposal has been made and leaders of both parties are aware of it, he said there have been no formal discussions on the matter.
Anwar, who is also PKR president, did not...
Pakatan Harapan leader Anwar Ibrahim said PKR and Amanah would explore the proposal of a merger.
Although a formal proposal has been made and leaders of both parties are aware of it, he said there have been no formal discussions on the matter.
Anwar, who is also PKR president, did not reveal when the proposal was made.
“The proposal has been submitted and both PKR and Amanah leaders are aware of it and will explore the idea.
“The idea of merging both parties has been thrown around for some time by some PKR members,” he was quoted as stating by Free Malaysia Today after visiting a morning market in Kuala Lumpur.
Political analyst Wong Chin Huat had suggested the merger in the aftermath of the recent Malacca state polls, which saw PKR failing to win a single seat out of the 11 contested.
BN scored a landslide win in the polls, capturing 21 of the 28 seats up for grabs.
Harapan, on the other hand, won just five seats compared to the 13 seats it garnered in the 2018 general election.
Whereas Perikatan Nasional, led by former premier Muhyiddin Yassin, won two seats.
In mooting the merger, Wong said it would help Harapan win over Malay voters, which is a voter demographic the coalition has been struggling with.
Harapan's rivals, Umno and PAS, often peddle the allegation that voting for Harapan would be detrimental to the Malays and Islam as it would lead to the predominantly Chinese DAP coming into power.
DAP leaders, however, dismiss this allegation as baseless fear-mongering.
Similar to Wong, former Selangor PKR Youth chief Najwan Halimi said PKR and Amanah should consider merging as it would help Harapan win more Malay votes.
He added that the merger would also resolve the seat allocation issue between both parties.
Apart from this, Najwan said the marriage would also strengthen PKR following the Sheraton Move last year.
He claimed that the move had left PKR with a leadership vacuum at the national, state and grassroots levels.
