He said the unity government had not failed completely in introducing reforms, with changes such as the constitutional amendment granting citizenship to children born to mothers of foreign spouses being part of PKR’s reform agenda.

In an interview with selected media, Nik Nazmi said PKR president Anwar Ibrahim would regularly attend parliamentary meetings at the Dewan Rakyat, especially for the Prime Minister’s Question Time.

“This shows that Parliament as an institution is taken seriously,” he said.

He acknowledged that the federal government had not moved fast enough on reforms and that PKR’s progressive support base, especially urban Malays and non-Malays, have high expectations of the party.

“They have been driving our support all this time. But they also have to appreciate the current political stability, something that we used to take for granted in Malaysia.

“It is actually a premium now after the Sheraton Move (in February 2020),” he said.

Nik Nazmi, a member of Anwar’s cabinet, defended Anwar’s leadership of the party and the government, saying the prime minister had to manage various demands from coalition partners while steering the country through tough economic challenges.

“The prime minister has had to deal with a lot of difficulties, and the fact that this is not a (solely) Pakatan Harapan government means there are certain challenges and limits as to what the government can do.

“In terms of the economy, we have made major and difficult decisions on targeting subsidies. There were a lot of nervous ministers but the prime minister was firm. We had to do this.”

Nik Nazmi also cited Putrajaya’s efforts to improve wages for civil servants, including the first comprehensive salary review for the civil service in the past 12 years.

However, he said more needed to be done, particularly in communicating with the public.

“We have taken a lot of measures. The challenge is communication, in order to explain our position. We need to engage more with stakeholders as we head toward the next general election (GE16).”

PKR must bring back physical polling

Separately, Nik Nazmi urged PKR to revisit the way it conducts its party elections, calling for a return to the use of ballot papers for voting, as a way to ignite a sense of ownership among members.

The two-term Setiawangsa MP, who was part of the committee that oversaw the 2022 party polls, said online polling was initially introduced as the party believed it would be more convenient.

However, he now recognises that, while online voting had its benefits, it risks detaching members from the party.

“(There is no) sense of belonging as they just go through the app. Even for becoming a member, they can just go through the app.

“For voting in certain categories, we need to take another look. We need to do more physical voting to create a sense of belonging,” he said.

Nik Nazmi, who lost his position as Setiawangsa PKR chief in last month’s divisional polls, said he has moved on from the disappointing result.

However, he said it was important to ensure that PKR’s elections were conducted in an independent and fair manner, both at the divisional and central level.

“We have to give confidence to the candidates and 30,000 delegates who will be casting their votes that the elections are independent and fair, that everyone is on an equal footing,” he saifd.

Nik Nazmi is contesting against 11 others for one of the four vice-president’s posts in the PKR elections on May 23.

It is the first PKR leadership contest since Anwar became prime minister in November 2022.