PKR needs new generation of leaders beyond Anwar, says Zaliha

PKR vice-president Dr Zaliha Mustafa has urged the party to look beyond Anwar Ibrahim when it comes to future leadership. In her speech at PKR's national congress, she emphasized the need to start building a new generation of leaders who can carry on the party's reform agenda and lead the nation after Anwar's presidency. Zaliha stressed that the process of identifying and nurturing these leaders should not wait until Anwar decides to step down and instead begin immediately.

She described these future leaders as being knowledgeable about the reformasi struggle, being clean, competent, courageous, knowledgeable about the economy and people's concerns, and ready to lead Malaysia. Zaliha said PKR must have the courage to think about leadership beyond Anwar, who achieved the party's earlier goal of leading the country.

This need for new leaders aligns with the party's reform principles, such as limiting the prime minister's term to ten years. Zaliha advised PKR to identify, train, and provide exposure and responsibilities to these potential leaders from grassroots levels, including ordinary members, Wanita and Youth wings, professionals, and community activists.

She encouraged cadre-building to start sooner rather than later, even though it's better late than never. Political analyst Tawfik Yaakub from Universiti Malaya echoed Zaliha's sentiments, stating that PKR needs to push its party leaders to develop successors on par with Anwar to meet future challenges, given the party's lackluster performance in the recent state elections.

Tawfik highlighted Anwar as the party's greatest political asset but warned that over-reliance on Anwar had led to other leaders taking a back seat.