Party of Hardship: The Evolution of Malaysia''s Parti Keadilan Rakyat

The People's Justice Party (PKR) may in many ways be synonymous with its larger-than-life leader, Anwar Ibrahim, who, although only president for six of the party's twenty-five years, has always been its de facto leader and adviser. However, PKR is much more than only about Anwar, and this paper traces the evolution of the party independently of Anwar as a person.

However, openness and loose organization led to factionalism within the party, resulting in largescale defections during the 2009 Perak crisis, the 2014 Selangor menteri besar crisis, and the 2020 Sheraton Move. Without pushing its big-tent approach to the limit and without working with archenemy Mahathir Mohamad, PKR would not have emerged victorious in the first-ever change in government in 2018 and Anwar Ibrahim would not have been pardoned and freed. Notwithstanding that, it also led to a fractious coalition and a loss of trust in the leadership during Pakatan Harapan's term in government (201820).

The post-election Unity Government with Anwar Ibrahim as the tenth prime minister marks PKR's first real governing experience, and this would not have been possible without PKR's core identity operating in full gear. See more