Why PKR faces the same problems as Umno

I have said this before and I will say it again. PKR has to break out of the Umno mould. It must not be structured the way Umno is and function the way Umno does. Think out of the box. Try doing things differently.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

“Anwar Ibrahim: A Superb Campaigner but…” said Terence Netto, which was published in Din Merican’s Blog. You can read the full article here: http://dinmerican.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/anwar-ibrahim-a-superb-campaigner-but/

No, I am not going to whack Anwar. This article is not about personalities. I am going to talk about systems and structures. And today’s article is going to be a very short piece, not my normal cheong hei type of article.

As what I have already said before, which means I am repeating myself, PKR is structured along the lines of Umno. The party positions and functions duplicate Umno. PKR is almost a carbon copy of Umno.

I have said this before and I will say it again. PKR has to break out of the Umno mould. It must not be structured the way Umno is and function the way Umno does. Think out of the box. Try doing things differently.

One issue that needs addressing is the top leadership of the party. Why have a president, deputy president, 3-7 vice presidents, youth leader, women’s wing leader and whatnot?

PKR should consider amending its constitution and change its party structure. Abolish the Umno-type structure. For example, dump all those many top positions. No need for a deputy president, 3-7 vice presidents, youth leader, women’s wing leader and whatnot. Just have two positions. One, party leader, and another, party president.

The party leader will handle all the politics of the party. If the party gets to form the federal government then the party leader becomes the prime minister of the country. And the party president runs all party matters, which will include all the administrative matters.

The party leader and party president are positions that are contested. But only these two positions will be contested. Then the party leader and party president appoint their team. And each will serve for just two years before new elections are called. And the elections for party leader and party president are alternated, not both in the same year.

There are no other party contests. This way the members choose their party leader and party president and leave it to them to appoint their team. So, there will be no mad scramble for the so many positions, like now.

Because PKR is structured just like Umno, it also shares the same illness that Umno faces. And the internal party elections become more important than the general elections. And this also means that their own party members/leaders are considered worse enemies than those from the opposing party -- in this case Umno and Barisan Nasional.

That is all I want to say today. And if PKR was not structured just like Umno, today, it would not be facing the same problems that Umno is facing.

I repeat. Just have one leader, not so many like in Umno. And just have a president to run the party -- while the leader handles the politics plus the strategies and campaigns involved.