Who will be the new opposition leader?

Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin is likely to be opposition leader, given his experience and ability to unite the three parties in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, say PKR sources. – The Malaysian Insider pic, February 17, 2015.

With Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim now in jail, the big question that hangs over the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat (PR), is who will be its new leader.

Given the bickering between the Islamist PAS and the secular DAP, chances are that the next opposition leader will come from Anwar's party, PKR, sources say, even though DAP has the most seats in the federal Parliament on the opposition bloc.

Anwar's parliamentary seat of Permatang Pauh, in Penang, is also vacant now with him serving out a five-year jail sentence for a sodomy conviction.

The clue to who becomes the next opposition leader may be found in who gets chosen to contest the Permatang Pauh seat for PR in the impending by-election.

PR sources said Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali was a possibility, especially if a more junior leader in PKR is chosen for Permatang Pauh, as a strong leader is needed to lead and unite the opposition pact.

Among the junior names touted as potential candidates for Permatang Pauh are former Balik Pulau MP Yusmadi Yusof and Penang executive council member Dr Afif Bahardin.

Speculation is also rife that that Anwar’s second daughter, Nurul Nuha, could be considered as candidate seeing as how she is now leading the March to Freedom campaign to free her father.

If Nurul Nuha becomes the Permatang Pauh candidate, however, the post of opposition leader could fall to Azmin, who is also PKR deputy president and is highly influential within the party.

“If Nurul Nuha is Permatang Pauh MP, it is almost certain that Azmin will be opposition leader as she has no position in the party,” said the source.

As menteri besar and MP for Gombak, Azmin is experienced and these leadership posts automatically qualify him for the post.

The same logic also applies if either Yusmadi or Afif is chosen, given their relative youth in the party.

The opposition leader is essentially the de facto leader of PR, even though the coalition does not have such a post unlike its rival Barisan Nasional, where Datuk Seri Najib Razak is chairman.

Which is why PR needs a strong, senior leader to helm it and unite the pact’s disparate parties from the Islamist PAS to DAP, a party of secular, social democrats.

“The opposition leader means the leader of Pakatan Rakyat. Which is why this post is very important," said the source.

There are other names for Permatang Pauh include Anwar’s wife Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and former PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

Dr Wan Azizah has had the most experience as the opposition leader and has been a two-term Permatang Pauh MP from 1999 to 2008.

However, she is said to be reluctant to contest the seat again given the fact that she is also Kajang assemblyman and PKR president.

And the possibility of her becoming opposition leader is remote, given that the Islamist PAS would likely disagree.

There is already past precedence, when PAS opposed her as PR's choice to replace Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as Selangor menteri besar in the long-drawn imbroglio last year.

Saifuddin, who is now PKR election director, is also said to be a good choice as a Permatang Pauh candidate given his years in the party and the fact that he is well regarded by those in PAS and DAP.

He is also considered a local boy as he had the Kulim-Bandar Baru seat in the last general election although he lost the contest.

“Kulim-Bandar Baru is next door to Permatang Pauh. He is well liked in DAP and PAS,” added the PR source.

- TMI