IN any political party, the women’s wing is the most important cog, hence it is always said to be the backbone or “beating heart” of a successful party.
While everyone plays a role in a party, it is the women on the ground who go out wherever they can to canvass new members, campaign and ensure their leaders of choice thrive — the latter is an extremely important matter to remember.
Thus, to sack or embarrass a beloved former PKR women’s wing leader such as Zuraida Kamaruddin would be met with blistering retaliation.
After months of criticising her party, her president and colleagues, Zuraida’s support among the grassroots has, surprisingly, yet to diminish. Instead, it has been gaining momentum.
At least three-quarters of the PKR’s women members are on Zuraida’s side, and the show-cause letter sent to her by the party’s disciplinary board has courted theories and predictions.
Who was Zuraida in the late 1990s? Any media practitioner at the time would say she was a nobody at the national level, but the same cannot be said at the grassroots level.
According to one PKR insider, the Ampang lawmaker did not earn degrading monikers because she was a “yes-man”.
“She is and has always been fierce, even since back then. If people think they should be scared of the Otai Reformis 98, let me tell you that Zuraida is even more dangerous than them because she has actual support.
“The grassroots are her advantage. How many political leaders can say the same about themselves?” the source said.
Otai Reformis 98 is a group that rallied to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s “reformasi” battle cry after he
was sacked in 1998 as deputy prime minister by the then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The group has been calling for Zuraida’s expulsion.
As PKR president, Anwar has a lot to consider. Most importantly, he must answer one question: Can he afford to wage war against a “war-time” women’s leader like Zuraida?
Anwar’s fight with his deputy, Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, did not yield any favourable outcome. Anwar was left embarrassed during PKR’s congress last year when hundreds of member and leaders bailed out on the last day of the party’s annual meeting in Melaka.
Not only that, they returned to Kuala Lumpur on the same day and held a dinner at PKR’s birthplace, the Renaissance Hotel.
Zuraida’s speech at the dinner was her most public acknowledgement of PKR’s internal conflict.
Anwar may see Zuraida as a sort of cancer in PKR and chemotherapy an option to kill those malignant cells, but it can also harm healthy cells.
Is Anwar ready to lose so many party loyalists simply because of Zuraida?
As Anwar and his team search for an answer to that question, like finding a needle in a haystack, the prime minister-in-waiting may also listen to other voices once in a while, such as his allies.
One PH leader who spoke to the New Straits Times on condition of anonymity said many cabinet members were concerned about PKR’s infighting as it could cost them Putrajaya in the 15th General Election (GE15).
“There’s just too much infighting and everyone is getting really tired.
“We are supposed to present a united front, but our ally is bickering among themselves.
“I am worried that there will be sabotage in PKR, which could affect PH’s chances in GE15.
“How can we win as a coalition if a component party is having a showdown every day on who’s strong and who’s weak? It’s ridiculous and childish.”
Perhaps it is time for Anwar to review Politics 101.
It will tell you that having a combination of strong grassroots support and a reliable team is the most important part of becoming a political leader. The two factors must go hand in hand. One can’t work properly without the other.
It is time PKR leaders found out what members want in 2020, not what they wanted in 1998.
If the infighting continues and no one bothers to find out what the grassroots want, both Anwar and Azmin will lose as the victor will inherit a weakened party.
And with the overwhelming support Zuraida has received in the past few weeks, it would appear that firing her will be equivalent to the United States waging war in Vietnam decades ago — you know you will lose.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times