A leadership election was held by the People's Justice Party (PKR) in Malaysia from 14 March to 23 May 2025 to elect new leadership at the central and branch levels.
This leadership election will be the first since party president Anwar Ibrahim became the Prime Minister of Malaysia and the second since PKR became a ruling party, after the 2018 PKR leadership election. This leadership election is considered very important for the party's direction for the next general election that will expected in 2027.
Background and events The voting of this leadership election is only opened to some delegates, instead of all party members. The number of delegates eligible to vote is expected to be more than 20,000, and each party division has 12 delegates. According to Vice President of PKR, Chang Lih Kang, this was to save time and effort while maintaining democracy.
Party chairman of the international bureau of PKR, Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin revealed the possibility that the top two party positions, the presidency and deputy presidency may not be involved in this leadership election, similar to the 2023 United Malays National Organisation leadership election.
The current president of PKR, Anwar Ibrahim won unopposed after no other candidate submitted a form to contest the position on 9 May 2025. Anwar also managed to retain his position for the third consecutive times, after the PKR leadership election held in 2018 and 2022.
This leadership election focuses on the position of Deputy President of PKR, where the daughter of the Prime Minister of Malaysia and President of PKR, Nurul Izzah Anwar, will contest the position with the incumbent, Mohd Rafizi Ramli, who is also the Minister of Economy. Minister of Home Affairs and Secretary-General of PKR, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail make the decision to withdraw from contesting the position of Deputy President of PKR in this leadership election. This decision was announced by the Special Officer to the Minister of Home Affairs, Omar Mokhtar A Manap on 9 May 2025 in a brief statement to the media. He added that the decision was taken as a result of discussions with many parties, including the top leadership of PKR.
Campaign HIRUK vs DAMAI The leadership election saw two major factions vying for key positions within the party.
The HIRUK () faction (Hidupkan Idealisme Reformasi dalam Ujian Kuasa) is led by Rafizi Ramli, Minister of Economy and Member of Parliament for Pandan. Among the key party figures aligned with the faction are Aminuddin Harun, Chang Lih Kang, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Rodziah Ismail. It advocates for a more confrontational approach that embodied PKR's early reformist zeal, opposing a big tent and cooperation with parties like UMNO. The campaign was themed around eliminating the alleged "cartel" surrounding PKR President Anwar Ibrahim along with alleged money politics and nepotism within the party. It has a base of support amongst party grassroots, urban liberals, and progressives.
The DAMAI () faction (Dari Akar, Membina Aspirasi Inklusif) is led by Nurul Izzah Anwar, co-chairperson of the Secretariat of the Special Advisory Body to the Minister of Finance. It is joined by key party figures such as Amirudin Shari, Ramanan Ramakrishnan, Adam Adli Abd Halim, Fadhlina Sidek and Muhammad Kamil Munim. It represents the party establishment that supports coalition-building and forging closer ties with UMNO. The campaign manifesto pledged to strengthen and focus on the future of the party along with helping the sandwich generation escape the cocoon of poverty. Its support is derived from local leaders, with over 200 of 222 divisions pledging support, along with party veterans and conservatives who wish to emulate PKR into a 'reformed' UMNO.
Controversies and issues Alleged weaknesses in the voting system The leadership election was marred with allegations of weaknesses in the implementation of the online voting system (e-voting). Rafizi Ramli, the party's deputy president, claimed that the results at the divisional level were like "a body without a head", owing to many division leaders opposed to Rafizi winning despite the rest of their 'team' losing. There have been protests by losing candidates to re-examine the results at the divisional level, such as the defeat of Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad to Afdlin Shauki in Setiawangsa along with Akmal Nasir's defeat to Taufiq Ismail in Johor Bahru. However, the PKR Central Leadership Council (MPP) confirmed and finalized the election results for all 220 branches nationwide on 5 May 2025 after an external audit found no irregularities.
Allegations of money politics A video went viral on Twitter showing Ramanan Ramakrishnan, a vice-presidential candidate aligned with DAMAI, handing out money to several people at Sungai Buloh's Pusat Khidmat Rakyat. However, Ramanan denied the accusation that they were bribes to supporters, instead claiming it was an old clip of hand-outs to his staff personnel after the 2023 Selangor state election.
Timeline +DatesEvents14–16 March 2025Nominations for Division Committee Members, Division Women Committee Members and Division Youth Committee Members 11–20 April 2025Elections for Division Committee Members, Division Women Committee Members and Division Youth Committee Members8–9 May 2025Nominations for Central Leadership Council (MPP) Members, Central Women Committee Members and Central Youth Committee Members23 May 2025Elections for Central Leadership Council (MPP) Members, Central Women Committee Members and Central Youth Committee Members
Nominations and results
Central Leadership Council (MPP)
President Candidate Members' voteAnwar Ibrahim Unopposed
Deputy President Candidate Members' votes Nurul Izzah Anwar9,803Mohd Rafizi Ramli 3,866
Vice Presidents Candidate Members' votesAmirudin Shari7,955Ramanan Ramakrishnan5,895Aminuddin Harun 5,889Chang Lih Kang5,757Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad 5,656Sim Tze Tzin 5,085Hee Loy Sian 3,642Sathia Prakash Nadarajan 2,573Manivannan Gowindasamy 2,432Mustaffa Kamil Ayub2,029Abun Sui Anyit1,545Yuneswaran Ramaraj1,231
Central Leadership Council Members Candidate Members' votesFahmi Fadzil 4,811Adam Adli Abd Halim 4,798Chan Ming Kai 4,753Gunarajah George 4,699Mohd Azlan Helmi 4,699Maszlee Malik 4,694Goh Choon Aik 4,669Nor Azrina Surip4,669Elizabeth Wong Keat Ping 4,6684,668Siti Aishah Shaik Ismail 4,655Syed Ahmad Syed Abdul Rahman Al-Hadad 4,467Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir 4,4554,444Lee Chean Chung4,416Nor Azam Karap4,403Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh 4,389Kumaresan Aramugam4,373Sim Chon Siang 4,372Sivamalar Ganapathy4,366 4,266Mohd Johari Mohamad4,252David Cheong Kian Young4,2473,913Raiyan Abdul Rahim3,808Fahmi Zainol3,707Mohd Yahya Mat Sahri 3,674Onn Abu Bakar 3,537Tan Kar Hing3,429Wong Chen3,333Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid3,274Chua Wei Kiat3,246Sangkar Rasam3,229Zahir Hassan3,217Thiban Subbramaniam3,025Saiful Izham Ramli3,020Razeef Rakimin2,920Rajendra Kumar Munusamy2,976Gerald Hans Isaac2,904Najib Bakar2,812Roslan Ismail2,786M. Anbarasan Murugesu2,673Mohd Rafee Ibrahim 2,670Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainudin2,570Gan Ay Ling2,533Mohammad Fahmi Ngah2,436Azmizam Zaman Huri2,349Kesavan Subramaniam2,348Najwan Halimi2,2262,218Khairil Adanan2,116Kenny Chiew Chi Kin2,072Mohd Kamri Kamaruddin1,9301,885Baldip Singh Santokh Singh1,810Yew Boon Lye1,803 1,636Saraswathy Kandasami1,624Borhan Aman Shah1,609Mustapa Mansor Amer Mohd Isa1,606Asharun Uji1,523Anetha Vallaitham Pillal1,499Syaril Ali1,384Zainurizzaman Moharam1,464Anmuniandy Andy Vellymalai1,438Isaiah Jacob1,396Tay Wei Wei1,385Mohd Saifullah Mohd Zulkifli1,329Dikin Musah1,318Syed Azuan Syed Ahmad1,238Abdul Halim Hussain1,144Amir Md Ghazali1,132Mohd Fauzi Abdullah1,129Lim Kim Eng1,002Balamurugan Sinnathamby935Chan Sai Keong773Nareshakumar Sukumaran762C. Kamalanathan746Amir Hussien745Lai Chen Heng 712Tan Chin Wuu603Delakan Ratha Krishnak508Yusof Mat457Amran Othman418Wan Ibnul Bahar Wan Ismail405Anthony Soosai Manikam394Lim Weng Boon365Sulaiman Abu Samah291
Central Women’s Leadership Council (MPWP)
Women's Chief Candidate Members' votesFadhlina Sidek 2,890Rodziah Ismail 1,806
Deputy Women's Chief Candidate Members' votesJuwairiya Zulkifli2,760Napsiah Khamis1,752
Vice Women's Chiefs Candidate Members' votesRozana Zainal Abidin 2,610Loh Ker Chean 2,608Rufinah Pengeran 2,518Faizah Ariffin1,574Wasanthee Sinnasamy1,542Sivamalar Genapathy994
Central Youth Leadership Council (MPAMKP)
Youth Chief Candidate Members' votesKamil Munim Unopposed
Deputy Youth Chief Candidate Members' votesIzuan Kasim 3,339Arshad Hassni1,538
Vice Youth Chiefs Candidate Members' votesNabil Halimi 2,784Mohammed Taufiq Johari 2,780Chiew Choon Man 2,353Pravin Murali1,495Fathin Amelina Fazlie1,110Prasanth Kumar Brakasam974Goh Kah Yong774Prabakaran Parameswaran541Kalaimughilan Arjunan335Wan Hasifi Amin261Shaun Kua108
Division leadership The following is a list of branch leaders, AMK leaders, and women leaders who won the elections.