A small reshuffle in PKR is already in the works and this is set to raise eyebrows since party elections will happen in just a few short months before the year’s end.

It is already rumoured that the Selangor Menteri Besar’s political secretary Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad will be moving to the party headquarters to replace party communications head, Jonson Chong.

Chong is then likely to move to PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim’s office, although the position for him has not been confirmed yet.

nik nazmi nik ahmad book launch 210310 03 When contacted, Chong was surprised to hear the news, saying he has not heard anything from Anwar, but adding he will respect whatever decision made by the party leadership.

"I won’t interpret it as an insult. If Nik Nazmi is really appointed, I would like to congratulate him. He is a bright young man and I wish him all the best," Chong told Malaysiakini.

Nik Nazmi ( left ) remained mum when contacted, saying that as far as he was concerned, he is still political secretary to Khalid Ibrahim, the former corporate giant turned PKR politician.

Despite the silence and obfuscation, it is already widely speculated that Nik Nazmi, a first-term Seri Setia assemblyperson, would be leaving Khalid’s office by the end of this month.

Several news portals have reported on Nik Nazmi’s tense relationship with Khalid but this has been rubbished by sources within the state government.

"Yes, Khalid is sometimes difficult, but which boss isn’t? Nik Nazmi has been cordial with Khalid and the MB trusts him completely.

"To be someone’s political secretary is like being the person’s right arm. It is nonsense that Nik Nazmi and Khalid can’t get along," said the source.

State gov't to go for Malay votes

It is also strongly rumoured that Muslim cleric Badrul Amin Baharom will be given a powerful position within the Selangor government as an ‘information chief".

bagan pinang by election 061009 badrul amin baharom speech The move is set to alarm the liberals in the party given that former ISA detainee Badrul Amin ( left ) has been quite vocal with his hardline views.

But this should be no surprise to the inner circle of the party and those close to Anwar who see the move as one to entice the Malay vote which eluded them in the Hulu Selangor by-election in April.

Anwar had also spoken on reshuffling the party’s organisational structure at the party’s congress in Kota Bharu last month. This, he said, was to further ‘strengthen’ the party that has been badly hit by a string of defections by its lawmakers.

However, some party insiders have said the reshuffle among the party executive and appointed posts is simply to ‘direct’ party members on how to vote in the next round.

Other posts to be reshuffled

It has also been rumoured that apart from the communications bureau position, other posts to be affected include the information chief, strategic director as well as the treasurer-general.

If this materialises, it could mean that the Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) base, before merging with then Keadilan to form PKR, would be diluted; all in the hope of appeasing the Malay grassroots elements in the party.

pkr national congress 291108 type 01 Whether those who hold these positions would be given another posting in another bureau remains a question mark but it is almost certain that Anwar has been exploring ‘creative’ means to gain Malay support for the party.

While Anwar will also have his hands full calming the non-Malay base, it now appears that for the sake of perception, the party will be heading into a two-dimensional core.

PKR will now have to strike the right balance in finding favour with the Malay electorate while at the same time maintaining its liberal appeal for the non-Malays who have been wanting to see a strong two-party democracy in the country.