People's Justice Party (Malaysia)

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR; English: People's Justice Party), is a reformist political party in Malaysia formed on 3 August 2003 through a merger of the party's predecessor, the National Justice Party, with the socialist Malaysian People's Party. The party's predecessor was founded by Wan Azizah Wan Ismail during the height of the Reformasi movement on 4 April 1999 after the arrest of her husband, former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. At the 2022 Malaysian general election, the PH coalition which the PKR was part of was returned to power again, albeit without a majority, leading it to form a unity government with political rivals. The party is one of main partners of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) ruling coalition in Malaysia.
In the first general elections contested by the party in 1999, the party won five seats in the Dewan Rakyat. A resurgence of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition in the 2004 general elections reduced the party to just one seat. However, an election wave in the 2008 general elections favoring the opposition increased the party's parliamentary representation to 31 seats, as well as allowing them to form the government in 5 states. This triggered the resignation of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and a lift on the five-year political ban imposed on Anwar Ibrahim on 14 April 2008.
The Pakatan Harapan coalition defeated Barisan Nasional, which had ruled the country for 60 years since independence, in the 2018 general elections, allowing the coalition to form the government. However, defections from within PKR as well as the withdrawal of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU) from the coalition caused the collapse of the PH government after just 22 months in power, culminating in the 2020 Malaysian political crisis that resulted in the rise of the Perikatan Nasional government with ally-turned-enemy Muhyiddin Yassin at the helm. The PH coalition would return to power once again after the 2022 elections. The elections produced a hung parliament for the first time in the country's history, but an alliance with other parties allowed Anwar Ibrahim to become the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia through a unity government with his political rivals in Barisan Nasional as well as other political coalitions and parties to achieve a two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
The party enjoys strong support from urban states such as Selangor, Penang, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Johor, as well as the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. It promotes an agenda with a strong emphasis on social justice and anti-corruption, as well as adopting a platform that seeks to abolish the New Economic Policy to replace it with an economic policy that takes a non-ethnic approach in poverty eradication and correcting economic imbalances.
The economy of Malaysia was affected by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance at the time, Anwar Ibrahim has instituted a series of economic reforms and austerity measures in response. These actions were exacerbated when he tabled controversial amendments to the Anti-Corruption Act that sought to increase the powers of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). The then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad disagreed with these measures and ultimately sacked Anwar from all his posts. This incident and the circumstances in which it happened led to a public outcry in what became known as the Reformasi movement, but it also resulted in the arrest and subsequent incarceration of Anwar on what many believed to be politically motivated charges of sexual misconduct and corruption.
The movement, which began while the country hosted the Commonwealth Games, initially demanded the resignation of Malaysia's then-Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, and for the end of alleged corruption and cronyism within the Barisan Nasional-led (BN) government. It would go on to become a reformist movement demanding social equality and social justice in Malaysia. The movement consisted of civil disobedience, demonstrations, sit-ins, rioting, occupations and online activism.
Once Anwar had been detained, the Reformasi movement continued to develop, with "Justice for Anwar" remaining a potent rallying call. Before his arrest, Anwar had designated his wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, as the successor of the movement. Wan Azizah developed an enormous following, attracting thousands to her speeches. For a time, these followers held massive weekend street demonstrations, mostly in Kuala Lumpur but also occasionally in Penang and other cities, for "keadilan" (justice) and against Mahathir.
Building on the momentum of Reformasi, a political movement called the Social Justice Movement (Malay: Pergerakan Keadilan Sosial), also known as ADIL, was launched on 10 December 1998 and was led by Wan Azizah. However, facing difficulties in registering ADIL as a political party, the Reformasi movement instead merged with the Muslim Community Union of Malaysia (Malay: Ikatan Masyarakat Islam Malaysia), a minor Islamic political party based in Terengganu, and relaunched it as the National Justice Party (Malay: Parti Keadilan Nasional), also known as PKN or KeADILan, on 4 April 1999. The registration was just in time for the new party to take part in the 1999 general elections. The launch of KeADILan put to rest months of speculation about whether Wan Azizah and Anwar would merely remain in ADIL, join PAS, or try to stage a coup against UMNO. Although Keadilan was multiracial, its primary target was middle-class, middle-of-the-road Malays, particularly from UMNO. The party has been noted as having rough similarities with the now-defunct multi-racial social democratic Parti Keadilan Masyarakat Malaysia. The party was joined by the Democratic Action Party (DAP), the Malaysian People's Party (PRM) and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) in a big tent alliance of liberals, socialists, and Islamists known as Barisan Alternatif to take on the ruling BN coalition in the 1999 general elections.
Between 27 and 30 September 1999, seven activists, including Keadilan leaders; Vice-President Tian Chua, Gobalakrishnan Nagapan, Youth leader Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor, Fairus Izuddin and Dr Badrul Amin Baharun; were arrested and as a result prevented from contesting in the elections. Further arrests were made on 10 April 2001 and those arrested were subsequently charged and incarcerated under the Internal Security Act. They became known as the Reformasi 10.
The legislative elections of 29 November 1999 were convened in advance, the pretext being the start of Ramadan. As the outgoing Parliament was dissolved on 11 November, the campaign was very short, drawing strong criticism from the opposition. The party entered the campaign with many of its key leaders under arrest along with many disadvantages, as the short campaign was marked by the distribution of pornographic videocassettes implicating former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar in the villages, as well as the opposition having a lack of access to written and audiovisual media. As a result of the mounting disadvantages, the election saw the party winning only five parliamentary seats in the elections despite gaining 11.67% of the total votes cast. However, Wan Azizah was elected as the Member of Parliament for Permatang Pauh; the seat formerly held by her husband, Anwar Ibrahim, with a majority of 9,077 votes. The Barisan Alternatif as a whole gained 40.21% of the total votes cast with PAS winning 27 seats and DAP winning ten seats. The big opposition winner was PAS, which gained 20 seats as well as a majority in two Assemblies in the northern States of Kelantan and Terangganu. As for the BN coalition of Mahathir Mohamad, it however scored a two-thirds majority with 148 seats (despite losing 14 seats). Nevertheless, the BN coalition lost power in two of the thirteen states, along with four members of Mahathir's Cabinet who also lost their seats. For the first time in Malaysia's history, UMNO, the dominant Malay-based party which had ruled the country for 40 years since independence, received less than half of the total vote of ethnic Malays.
The post election period saw negotiations between KeADILan and Parti Rakyat Malaysia on a possible merger. Despite some opposition in both parties to the move, a 13-point Memorandum of Understanding was eventually signed by the two parties on 5 July 2002. On 3 August 2003, the new merged entity was officially launched and assumed its current name. Somehow, as PRM had yet to be de-registered by the authorities, the remained dissidents convened a National Congress in Johor Bahru and elected a new Executive Committee led by former PRM youth leader, Hassan Abdul Karim to resume political activities on 17 April 2005.
As the new amendments to the party constitution had yet to be approved by the Registrar of Societies, candidates from PRM contested the 2004 general election using the symbol of the old National Justice Party. The party fared poorly in the elections and only managed to retain one parliamentary seat, Permatang Pauh which is held by Dr Wan Azizah, despite winning 9% of the popular vote. The poor showing was later attributed to malapportionment and gerrymandering in the delineation of constituencies, with one estimate suggesting that on average, a vote for the BN government was worth 28 times the vote of a Keadilan supporter.
On 2 September 2004, in a decision by the Federal Court, Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy conviction was overturned and he was freed. This unexpected turn of events came timely for KEADILAN which was facing flagging morale due to its dismal performance in the elections.
In December 2005 PKR organised its second national congress. Among the motions passed was the New Economic Agenda that envisioned a non-racial economic policy to replace the race-based New Economic Policy. PKR managed a breakthrough into Sarawak politics in May 2006. In Sarawak state elections, Dominique Ng, a lawyer and activist, won in the Padungan constituency in Kuching, a majority Chinese locale. KEADILAN lost narrowly in Saribas, a Malay-Melanau constituency by just 94 votes. Sarawak is a traditional BN stronghold. PKR has also pursued an aggressive strategy of getting key personalities from within and outside politics. In July 2006, Khalid Ibrahim, former CEO of Permodalan Nasional Berhad and Guthrie, was appointed as Treasurer of the PKR.
In the 2008 elections, PKR won 31 seats in Parliament, with the DAP and PAS making substantial gains as well with 28 seats and 23 seats respectively. In total, the taking of 82 seats by the opposition to BN's 140 seats made it the best performance in Malaysian history by the opposition, and denied BN the two-thirds majority required to make constitutional changes in the Dewan Rakyat.
PKR also successfully contested the state legislative elections which saw the loose coalition of PKR, DAP and PAS forming coalition governments in the states of Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor. The offices of the Menteri Besar of Selangor and the Deputy Chief Minister of Penang were held by KEADILAN elected representatives, Khalid Ibrahim and Mohd Fairus Khairuddin, respectively.
On 14 April 2008, Anwar celebrated his official return to the political stage, as his ban from public office expired a decade after he was sacked as deputy prime minister. One of the main reasons the opposition seized a third of parliamentary seats and five states in the worst ever showing for the BN coalition that has ruled for half a century, was due to him leading at the helm. A gathering of more than 10,000 supporters greeted Anwar in a rally welcoming back his return to politics. In the midst of the rally, police interrupted Anwar after he had addressed the rally for nearly half an hour and forced him to stop the gathering.
Malaysia's government intensified its efforts on 6 March to portray opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim as political turncoats, days ahead of Malaysian general election, 2008 on 8 March that would determine whether he posed a legitimate threat to the ruling coalition. Campaigning wrapped up 7 March for general elections that would see gains for Malaysia's opposition amid anger over race and religion among minority Chinese and Indians. Malaysians voted on 8 March 2008 in parliamentary elections. Election results showed that the ruling government suffered a setback when it failed to obtain two-thirds majority in parliament, and five out of 12 state legislatures were won by the opposition parties. Reasons for the setback of the ruling party, which had retained power since the nation declared independence in 1957, were the rising inflation, crime and ethnic tensions.
Malaysia's government and ruling coalition declared defeat in a landslide victory in the by-election by Anwar Ibrahim. Muhammad Muhammad Taib, information chief of the United Malays National Organisation which leads the BN coalition stated: Yes of course we have lost . . . we were the underdogs going into this race. Malaysia's Election Commission officials announced Anwar won by an astounding majority against Arif Shah Omar Shah of National Front coalition and over Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's UMNO. Reuters reported that according to news website Malaysiakini, Anwar Ibrahim had won with a majority of 16,210 votes. He had won 26,646 votes, while BN's Arif Omar won 10,436 votes. Anwar's People's Justice Party's spokeswoman Ginie Lim told BBC: "We won already. We are far ahead".
On 28 August 2008, Anwar, dressed in a dark blue traditional Malay outfit and black "songkok" hat, took the oath at the main chamber of Parliament house in Kuala Lumpur, as MP for Permatang Pauh at 10.03 am before Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia. He formally declared Anwar the leader of the 3-party opposition alliance. With his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and his daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar, also a parliamentarian, Anwar announced: "I'm glad to be back after a decade. The prime minister has lost the mandate of the country and the nation". Anwar needed at least 30 government lawmakers especially from Sabah and Sarawak MPs' votes to defect to form a government.
In June 2010, Suara Keadilan's publication was suspended for publishing a report which claimed a government agency is bankrupt. Suara Keadilan is run by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's PKR party. The Home Ministry, which oversees Malaysia's newspapers, said it was not satisfied with the paper's explanation for the allegedly inaccurate report.
In 2014, the Party's Strategy Director then Vice-President-cum-Secretary-General, Rafizi Ramli initiated the failed Kajang Move in a bid to topple the 14th Menteri Besar of Selangor, Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, and install the party's de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim as his replacement. The political manoeuvre resulted in a nine-month political crisis within the state of Selangor and the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, that also involved the palace of Selangor, a by-election costing RM1.6 million in taxpayers’ money, the party losing one seat in Selangor's assembly and Malaysian Parliament. PKR also ended up not getting the Menteri Besar that it wanted. The crisis concluded with the appointment of PKR's Deputy President, Azmin Ali, as the 15th Menteri Besar of Selangor. Most analysts say that the Kajang Move was a great failure.
On 12 September 2018, the incumbent Danyal Balagopal Abdullah resigned as Member of Parliament for Port Dickson to allow Anwar Ibrahim, who had been granted a royal pardon by the country's monarch the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to re-enter parliament after a 3-year absence. The resignation caused the Port Dickson by-election, 2018 and was dubbed the 'PD Move'. Anwar won the seat with an increased majority against six other candidates.
The 2020 Malaysian political crisis culminated in the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government. The political crisis began when several political forces, including then PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, attempted to depose the current government led by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad by forming a new government without going through a general election. This was achieved through backroom deals popularly known as the Sheraton Move, which saw the withdrawal of BERSATU from the coalition as well as the exit of Azmin Ali along with 10 other PKR MPs. This deprived the coalition of its majority and paved the way for Muhyiddin Yassin, the President of BERSATU, to form a backdoor government positioning himself as Prime Minister with the support of the newly formed Perikatan Nasional coalition.
During the political crisis, in a Facebook Live broadcast of a night prayer session at Anwar Ibrahim's residence, Anwar said that he had been informed of a "treachery" being committed that involved "former friends from BERSATU and a small group from PKR". Azmin Ali, in a later statement, claimed that his action was to protect then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who was forced to choose a date for the transition of power during Pakatan Harapan's presidential meeting on 21 February, and that the statutory declaration presented to the Agong was to cement support for Mahathir, not to elect a new prime minister. He further said that the real traitor was the faction that tried to usurp Mahathir.
On 24 February 2020, PKR held a press conference where its general secretary, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, announced that Azmin and vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin had been sacked by the party. Saifuddin explained that they were expelled due to their actions on 23 February which went against the party's official line regarding the position of Prime Minister. Azmin later announced that he would be forming an independent bloc in parliament along with Zuraida and nine other Azmin-aligned PKR MPs who left the party following his expulsion. A large number of PKR grassroots members aligned with Azmin's camp left the party once the political crisis began, including thousands of members across the country along with three Kelantan division chiefs who announced their resignation on 26 February.
On 4 March 2020, the Penang Exco of Agriculture, Agro-based Industries, Rural Development and Health, Afif Bahardin, resigned from his position in Penang State Executive Council. Aligned with Azmin Ali's camp, he claimed to have been pressured by party leadership to resign from his post. He was replaced by Norlela Ariffin, the MLA for Penanti, who was appointed as the new state councillor and sworn in on 12 March. On the same day, Chong Fat Full, the Azmin-aligned MLA of Pemanis in Johor, announced his resignation from the party to become a Perikatan-aligned independent. This handed the alliance a marginal 29-27 majority in the state assembly and allowed the takeover of a key Harapan state.
The collapse of Harapan governments at the state level continued on 12 May in Kedah when two Azmin-aligned MLAs, Robert Ling Kui Ee of Sidam and Azman Nasrudin of Lunas, left the party to become Perikatan-aligned independents. Along with four of six BERSATU MLAs defecting, their withdrawal to Perikatan gave the coalition a 23-13 majority and allowed Kedah state opposition leader, Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, to announce the formation of a new government with PAS at the helm, taking over from the previous BERSATU Chief Minister, Mukhriz Mahathir, who was aligned to Pakatan Harapan. Another departure followed on 17 May as Srikandi Keadilan Chief, Nurainie Haziqah Shafii, left the party claiming to have "lost confidence in the struggle and the direction of PKR".
The month of June witnessed more departures of PKR members and representatives, beginning with MP for Lubok Antu, Jugah Muyang, resigning from the party on 5 June. He was previously elected as an independent before joining PKR after they formed the federal government, but left the party for BERSATU after it became the new ruling party, joining it along with the independent MP of Bukit Gantang, Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz, who was previously elected under UMNO. The departure of Azmin allies continued when Daroyah Alwi, the Deputy Speaker & Exco of the Selangor state assembly as well as the Women's Deputy Chief, announced her resignation from the party to became a Perikatan-aligned independent on 13 June, followed by Afif Bahardin, the former Youth Deputy Chief, on 24 June, Meanwhile, Haniza Talha, the PKR Women's Chief, was sacked by the party on 29 June and was forced to resign as a State Exco member on 11 July. Haniza described PKR's decision to sack her from the party as an “act of revenge”. On the same day, she was replaced by Kuantan MP, Fuziah Salleh, as the party's new Women's Chief.
Salleh Said Keruak, a prominent politician from UMNO, cancelled his application to join PKR on 30 June citing the party's internal turmoil. He said the decision was made in April, and with the cancellation, remained an independent since leaving UMNO in 2018 before rejoining the party in September 2020. Previously, Salleh had applied to join PKR in October of the previous year.
The departures continued throughout July when Terengganu Women's Chief, Sharifah Norhayati Syed Omar Alyahya, left PKR along with 131 other members on 1 July, claiming injustice in the party's top leadership. This was followed by Penang MLA of Sungai Acheh, Zulkifli Ibrahim, who was sacked from PKR before joining BERSATU on 4 July. On the same day, two municipal councillors, Jess Choy of Selayang and Shoba Selvarajoo of Shah Alam, resigned from the party. This was followed Jempol division chief, Karip Mohd Salleh, who left the party with 25 other members for Perikatan Nasional on 15 July. On 30 July, MLA of Inanam & Sabah's Assistant Minister of Finance, Kenny Chua Teck Ho, was sacked for backing UMNO's Musa Aman as Chief Minister of Sabah.
BERSATU's Kuala Krau Division Chief, Mohamad Rafidee Hashim, left the party and joined PKR on 9 August, stating his action was because "the party was more consistent and principled in its efforts to fight for reform".
The defections continued when two MPs, Steven Choong of Tebrau and Larry Sng of Julau became independents on 27 and 28 February 2021. They would go on to form the Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) and declare their support for the ruling Perikatan Nasional coalition. The exodus of MPs ended on 13 March 2021 when PKR vice-president Xavier Jayakumar of Kuala Langat announced his resignation as both vice-president and party member, citing his 'frustrations' by the events of the past year and subsequently becoming a Perikatan-aligned independent MP.
A supporter of liberal democracy, PKR's constitution has as one of their core principles, the establishment of "a society that is just and a nation that is democratic, progressive and united". In practice, the party has primarily focused on promoting social justice, economic justice, eliminating political corruption and human rights issues within a non-ethnic framework.
President
Deputy President
PKR has 31 members in the House of Representatives.