This Perspective was published by ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute on 22 September 2025. For the full publication, please visit this link here.
- The People’s Justice Party (PKR)’s party election in 2025, its first while holding executive office in federal government, generated heated contests and attracted extensive public attention.
- The 2025 party election saw a series of surprising outcomes. More than 30,000 delegates representing 222 divisions voted for central leadership positions. At the division level, several senior or upcoming figures lost their contests, and there were allegations of fraud and complaints of electoral inconsistencies made to the party, which were eventually dismissed by the party’s central election committee.
- The contest for the Deputy Presidency between incumbent Rafizi Ramli and Nurul Izzah Anwar (daughter of Anwar Ibrahim), was the most heated. Nurul’s ‘unity’ defeated Rafizi’s ‘reform’ campaign by a large margin, but this result and the preceding controversies have raised questions about whether there will be another round of factional strife that may split the party.
- Rafizi and Nik Nazmi subsequently resigned their ministerial positions, and Rafizi has become highly critical of the federal administration.
- The future of PKR continues to be of great importance to Malaysia, given the likelihood that PKR will remain a significant player in the country’s coalitional politics. In this context, the issues of party cohesion and leadership succession that have arisen in the aftermath of the 2025 PKR party election will remain closely watched by observers of Malaysia’s political scene.
INTRODUCTION
The 2025 election of the People’s Justice Party (Parti KeADILAN Rakyat, or PKR) has been one of the most hotly contested and reported of its party elections historically. It is the first time the party held its elections while also holding executive office within the federal government. The winning individuals would be considered successors to the party president, favourable and influential in political and policy decision-making. The stakes were certainly high going into the election. The party had previously held its elections in 2022, 2018 and 2014. In the 2025 edition, the results have given rise to deep fissures in the party, and it is uncertain whether the faction out of favour with the party’s leadership will eventually leave.
This Perspective traces the events of the PKR party election in 2025, focusing on the division between key personalities, as well as the underlying events that led to that moment. It concludes with thoughts about the party’s future, which will invariably impact the country’s immediate and long-term future.
For the full publication, please visit this link here.
