PKR Grassroots Turn on PAS, DAP

Parti Keadilan Rakyat is finally beginning to approximate a modern, if not mature, political party. Its members are expanding their circle of blame beyond their own failings.
Unfortunately for Pakatan Rakyat – but fortunately for the rakyat as a whole – their additional targets include the DAP and PAS.

Speaking to Free Malaysia Today, PKR sources point out that the other parties' failures in the quest for Putrajaya were no less toxic than Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's crony-favouring, absentee leadership style.
The DAP comes under close scrutiny for working to maximise the Chinese vote whilst driving Malays screaming from Pakatan. FMT's sources are particularly hard on DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng and chairman Karpal Singh for stirring up the 'Allah' and hudud controversies, respectively.

Guan Eng's 2012 Christmas message needlessly re-opened the battle over the use of 'Allah' in Christian bibles; and Karpal waged a one-man war against hudud despite infrequent protests by PAS that they may or may not try to impose it.

Those grassroots sources argue that this excited Chinese voters (even to the point of voting for PAS candidates), but discouraged Malay voters from voting for PAS or PKR, especially in rural or semi-rural areas.

It is here that PAS comes under scrutiny, not only for the dreadful results of its governance in Kedah, but for its response to Guan Eng and Karpal. Faced with grassroots protests at DAP offices, PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat initially worked to maintain peace in the Opposition pact by tentatively signing off on Guan Eng's and Karpal's arguments.

Yet the net effect was to communicate to rural Malays that PAS follows the DAP's lead.
The result was brutal. Free Malaysia Today notes that if one were to exclude the Malay heartland states of Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, where PAS is at its strongest, Pakatan actually did worse in Malay-majority areas than in 2008.

PKR of course fared little better, despite believing that it was making solid gains in the Malay rural areas.
The DAP also takes some brickbats, clearly from Indian sources, for the miserable attention it gave to its Indian candidates whilst it favoured its stable of Chinese candidates – a poor decision with Datuk Seri Najib Razak and BN regaining the community's trust and votes.

The anonymous grassroots and division leaders who have opened up a multi-front war on their own party and coalition deserve real praise. They are admitting their failures and working to identify the causes of those failures – the latter placing them at a higher level of maturity than their own party leadership.

These are early days, and recriminations are thick in the air. The mark of PKR's maturity going forward will be how it responds to its failures at GE13 – by reforming and improving, or by continuing in its old tracks.
Anwar would have it continue. It is yet to be seen if the grassroots will succeed instead.