KLANG: PKR has regained its strength after the drawbacks it faced following the devastating Sheraton Move and there is even a membership boom, claims Kedah PKR chief Datuk Johari Abdul.

       Hence, a good and strong leadership line-up will strengthen the party’s branding and positioning again, added the Sungai Petani MP.

       "We had 900,000 members before the Sheraton Move and the numbers dropped drastically when the mishap occurred. Currently there is a membership boom and PKR has 1.2mil members now and the numbers are still growing," said Johari.

       The "Sheraton Move" in February 2020 resulted in the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan federal government when a number of MPs defected to help to form the Perikatan Nasional government.

       He added there were many capable leaders and young people waiting in the sidelines and these people will get an opportunity to lead the party through the upcoming polls.

       Meanwhile, Otai Reformasi secretary Abdul Razak Ismail said the new line-up that were to be voted in must be able to overhaul the party’s machinery.

       "We did badly in the Sarawak, Malacca and Johor state elections because Anwar (PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) had lost most of his lieutenants and he was left running everything by himself," said Razak.

       He said many of Anwar’s once 'trusted lieutenants' had absconded to other parties during the Sheraton Move and this left a huge gaping hole in the party leadership.

       Abdul Razak added losing 13 MPs was a big deal as many of those who had left the party had held important positions within the party’s leadership hierarchy.

       He added the new leadership line-up must be a strong one which can act as a backbone for Anwar.

       The party polls were scheduled to take place in May and the deputy president’s post as well as the vice president positions were expected to be hotly contested.