The People's Justice Party ( Parti Keadilan
Rakyat ) often
known simply as KeADILan or PKR) is a centrist multiracial political party in Malaysia formed in 2003 by a merger of the National Justice Party and the older Malaysian People's Party. KeADILan was led
by Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and increased its parliamentary
representation from 1 seat to 31 seats in the 2008 general election until the five-year political ban
imposed on former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was lifted on 14 April 2008. The party
enjoys strong support from urban states such as Selangor and Penang.
KeADILan was formed for Anwar Ibrahim
and his family justice and promotes an agenda with a strong
emphasis on social justice and anti-corruption. Recently the party adopted a
platform that seeks to abolish the New Economic Policy and replace it with a policy with an
emphasis on a non-ethnic approach in poverty eradication and correcting
economic imbalances.
VOTE PKR OF Pakatan Harapan IN GE/PRU 14 FOR A BETTER FUTURE FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
History
The
early years
1997 saw
the economy of Malaysia affected by what is now known as the Asian Economic
Crisis. The Finance Minister, Anwar Ibrahim (also Deputy Prime Minister),
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 Anti Corruption
Agency. 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 believe to be politically
motivated charges of sexual misconduct and corruption.
Building
on the momentum of the Reformasi, a political movement called the Social
Justice Movement (Malay: Pergerakan Keadilan Sosial) (Adil) was formed and led
by Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, wife of Anwar Ibrahim. But facing difficulties in
registering Adil as a political party, the reformasi movement took over a small
party Ikatan Masyarakat Islam Malaysia and launched as National Justice Party
(Malay: Parti Keadilan Nasional) on 4 April 1999, just in time to face the 1999
general elections.The party have been noted as having rough similarities with the
now-defunct multi-racial social democratic Parti Keadilan Masyarakat Malaysia
(Pekemas).The party was joined by the Democratic Action Party (DAP), the
Malaysian People's Party (PRM) and the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) in a broad
based electoral alliance known as Barisan Alternatif (Alternative Front) to
take on the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition in the 1999
general elections.
Arrests
Between
27 and 30 September 1999, seven activists, including Keadilan leaders;
Vice-President Tian Chua, N.Gobalakrishnan, Youth leader Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor,
Mohamed Azmin Ali, Fairus Izuddin and Dr Badrul Amin Baharun; were arrested and
as a result prevented from contesting in the elections.[8] 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.
1999
general elections
The
party entered the campaign with many of its key leaders under arrest and as a
result saw it winning only five parliamentary seats in the elections despite
gaining 11.67% of the total votes cast. The Barisan Alternatif as a whole
gained 40.21% of the total votes cast with PAS gaining 27 seats and DAP gaining
ten seats.
Merger
with Parti Rakyat Malaysia
The post
election period saw negotiations between KeADILan and Parti Rakyat Malaysia
(PRM) 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
2004
general elections
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
Elections 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 Barisan Nasional
government was worth 28 times the vote of a Keadilan supporter
Anwar
Ibrahim freedOn 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.
2008
general elections[edit]
In the
2008 elections, KeADILan 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 Barisan Nasional's 140 seats
made it the best performance in Malaysian history by the opposition, and denied
Barisan Nasional the two-thirds majority required to make constitutional
changes in the Dewan Rakyat.
KeADILan
also successfully contested the state legislative elections which saw the loose
coalition of KeADILan, 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.
Anwar's
return to politics
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 Barisan Nasional 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.
Permatang
Pauh by-election
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 Barisan Nasional 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 United Malays National Organisation
(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
Barisan Nasional'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.
Other
developments
In
December 2005 KeADILan 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.
KeADILan
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 Barisan Nasional stronghold.
Keadilan
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
Keadilan. K.S. Nallakarupan, a former Malaysian Indian Congress Youth, and
Jeffrey Kitingan, a popular Kadazan politician and brother of Joseph Pairin
Kitingan, president of the Barisan Nasional-aligned Parti Bersatu Sabah, have
also recently joined the party.
On 25
July 2009 ex-MIC vice-president Datuk S.S. Subramaniam and the members of 12
MIC branches from within Petaling Jaya and Meru, Klang defected from MIC and
joined Parti Keadilan Rakyat.
Kajang
Move
Main
article: Kajang Move
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 maneuver 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.
Ideology
KeADILan's
constitution has as one of her core principles,[37] 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,[38] economic justice,[39][40] eliminating political corruption[41] and
human rights issues[42] within a non-ethnic framework.
Controversies
Sodomy
allegations against Anwar Ibrahim
At 11.03
pm on 29 June 2008, online news portal Malaysiakini reported that an aide of
Anwar Ibrahim had lodged a police report claiming that he had been sodomised by
Anwar. The news has since been updated with reports that SMS messages are being
distributed claiming that the person who made the report is Anwar's aide,
Saiful Bukhari, who was arrested earlier today and allegedly forced to make a
false confession. The same SMS message also claimed the possibility of Anwar
being arrested later today.
Anwar
has since denied the allegations claiming that that it was a complete
fabrication and made in retaliation against him due to his recent acquisition
of evidence that implicates the current Inspector General of the Police, Musa
Hassan, and the Attorney General, Abdul Gani Patail, in misconduct including
fabrication of evidence used against him during the 1998–1999 trials for
corruption and sodomy.
Suara
Keadilan publication license suspended
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