Will PKR ceasefire hold?

After months of friction, leaders of the two main factions in PKR have finally suspended hostilities after compromises were made.

The sudden de-escalation comes as a surprise as party members loyal to deputy president Azmin Ali appeared set to rally supporters in Kuala Lumpur this weekend.

The meeting, scheduled at Renaissance Hotel where the party was formed 20 years ago, was intended to provide for an alternative avenue to the party's four-day national delegates' congress in Malacca which begins tonight.

After an unconventional political bureau meeting where Azmin and party president Anwar Ibrahim held talks last night, the Renaissance meet appeared to have been put on hold.

"I wish to state here that I and the leadership will attend the congress this week," Azmin told reporters yesterday.

Malaysiakini understood that Azmin and 11 central leadership council members loyal to him were participants at the "special" political bureau meeting.

They were greeted by Anwar and only a handful of loyalist central leadership council members.

After the meeting, a party spokesperson announced that the meeting resolved to have Azmin officiate the party's Youth and Wanita wing congress.

Effectively, this is a reversal of the PKR Youth leadership's decision to break away from the tradition of having the deputy president officiate their annual national delegates meet.

Seasoned party watchers told Malaysiakini that compromises appear to have been made on both sides.

"Both will now come out looking like the better man who is serious about party cohesion, at least for this weekend," said a source. 

Following the "special" political bureau meeting, several participants such as R Sivarasa and Shamshul Iskandar Md Akin told the press later that the only agenda during the meeting was the congress.

This meant that there are other unresolved burning issues which led to the fissures, such as complaints about how the central leadership council was mostly filled with co-opted Anwar loyalists, or whether or not Azmin would end his absenteeism of the regular political bureau and central leadership council meetings.

How these issues will play out will likely depend on party delegates who will take turns to address the leadership over the coming four days.

Save for Selangor, every state chapter of PKR has held their annual conventions for this year and debates on the party's cracks have been mostly subdued.

It was only during the Perak PKR convention on Tuesday which saw one speaker - Perak PKR Wanita chief Chua Yee Ling - being heckled with chants of "cartel".

"While the top two may have made peace, the grassroots - who already made their choice on who should succeed Mahathir - may be less forgiving," a party leader told Malaysiakini.