The People's Justice Party (, PKR or KEADILAN) is a reformist political party in Malaysia. It was founded in 2003 through the merger of its predecessor, the National Justice Party (KeADILan), with the socialist Malaysian People's Party (PRM). The party's predecessor was founded in 1999 by Wan Azizah Wan Ismail during the height of the Reformasi movement triggered by the imprisonment of her husband, former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Following the 2022 election that resulted in a hung parliament, the party governs Malaysia through a unity government led by Anwar Ibrahim as the tenth Prime Minister of Malaysia.
In the first general election of its predecessor in 1999, the party won five seats in the Dewan Rakyat. A resurgence by the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) in 2004 reduced PKR to a single seat in the traditional stronghold of Permatang Pauh. The 2008 election produced a substantial swing to the opposition, with PKR increasing its representation to 31 seats and forming the government in five states. The 2008 results also precipitated the resignation of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the lifting of Anwar Ibrahim's five-year political ban on 14 April 2008.
The Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, of which PKR is a founding and principal member, defeated Barisan Nasional at the 2018 general election, ending BN's uninterrupted 60-year rule since independence. However, defections from the faction aligned to Azmin Ali within the party and the withdrawal of BERSATU triggered the collapse of the PH government after just 22 months, leading to the 2020âÂÂ2022 political crisis. The party returned to government after the 2022 general election which resulted in Malaysia's first hung parliament. A unity government arrangement between Pakatan Harapan, former rivals Barisan Nasional, and several Borneo-based parties enabled the formation of a federal government led by Anwar Ibrahim.
The multiracial party advocates for institutional reform and economic justice, drawing its strongest support from urban and semi-urban constituencies, particularly in the states of Selangor, Penang, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Johor, and the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. The party's platform emphasises Reformasi-era priorities such as anti-corruption measures and social justice.
The economy of Malaysia had been badly affected by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In response, then-Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim instituted a series of economic reforms and austerity measures under his jurisdiction as Minister of Finance. The austerity package included reducing government spending by 18%, cutting ministerial salaries, and deferring major projects despite it being the cornerstone development strategy of the Mahathir government. The reforms were seen as challenging the administration's policies, and the situation was later exacerbated when he tabled controversial amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act that sought to increase the powers of the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA). Then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad strongly disagreed with these measures, and towards the end of 1998, their relationship began to heavily deteriorate, triggered by their conflicting views on governance. Eventually, this culminated in Mahathir dismissing Anwar from his cabinet positions on 2 September 1998, before expelling Anwar from UMNO the day after. This was despite Anwar being his protégé and having deep influence within both the party and government.
Anwar Ibrahim and sixteen of his political associates were later arrested between 20 and 29 September 1998 under the Internal Security Act (ISA). Amnesty International designated the individuals in detention as "prisoners of conscience", stating they were held solely for non-violent political activities. Anwar later appeared in court with visible injuries after nine days in custody, raising concerns of prisoner abuse and incommunicado detention. Human rights organisations criticised the use of the ISA to detain political opponents, as well as the violent dispersal of peaceful pro-reform demonstrations and broader restrictions on freedom of assembly and expression by the government. The following political associates of Anwar were arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA):
This incident and the circumstances in which it happened led to a public outcry in what became known as the Reformasi movement, but it also resulted in the arrest and subsequent detention without trial of Anwar on what many believed to be politically motivated charges of sexual misconduct and corruption. The movement, which began as the country hosted the 1998 Commonwealth Games, initially demanded the resignation of Mahathir Mohamad and for the end of alleged corruption and cronyism within the Barisan Nasional-led (BN) government. It would go on to become a reform movement demanding social equality and social justice in Malaysia. The movement consisted of civil disobedience, demonstrations, sit-ins, rioting, occupations and internet activism.
Despite Anwar being detained, the Reformasi movement continued to develop, with "Justice for Anwar" remaining a potent rallying call. Before his arrest, Anwar had designated his wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, as the successor of the movement. Wan Azizah went on to develop an enormous following, attracting thousands to her speeches. For a time, these followers held massive weekend street demonstrations, mostly in Kuala Lumpur but also occasionally in Penang and other cities, demanding "keadilan" (justice) and Mahathir's resignation. During Anwar's police custody in September 1998, he was beaten by then Inspector-General of Police, Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor, causing the infamous black eye. The imagery of the black eye was adopted as a rallying symbol of demanded justice by his followers and eventually became the party flagâÂÂjocularly known as the Bendera Mata Lebam ("Black Eye Flag")âÂÂdesigned by artist .
Building on the momentum of Reformasi, a political movement called the Social Justice Movement (), also known as ADIL, was launched on 10 December 1998 and was led by Wan Azizah. However, facing difficulties in registering ADIL as a political party, the Reformasi movement instead merged with the Muslim Community Union of Malaysia (), a minor Islamic political party based in Terengganu, and relaunched it as the National Justice Party (), also known as PKN or KeADILan, on 4 April 1999. The registration was just in time for the new party to take part in the 1999 general election. The launch of KeADILan put to rest months of speculation about whether Wan Azizah and Anwar would continute remaining in ADIL, join the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), or attempt an internal coup within UMNO. Although KeADILan was multiracial, its primary target was middle-class, middle-of-the-road Malays, particularly from UMNO. The party has been noted as having rough similarities with the now-defunct social democratic Parti Keadilan Masyarakat Malaysia (PEKEMAS).
On 24 October 1999, the party joined together with the Democratic Action Party (DAP), the Malaysian People's Party (PRM), and PAS in a big tent alliance of liberals, socialists, and Islamists, known as Barisan Alternatif (BA) to take on the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in the 1999 general election.
While parliament's term was set to end in June the next year, an early election was called in November under the pretext of avoiding "undesirable" behaviour during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in December. International media speculated that Mahathir wanted an early election to be held before some 650,000 new voters became eligible to participate. In the lead-up to the election, seven activists, including Keadilan leaders; Vice-president Tian Chua, Gobalakrishnan Nagapan, Youth leader Ezam Mohd Nor, Fairus Izuddin and Dr Badrul Amin Baharun; were arrested between 27 and 30 September and as a result prevented from contesting. Further arrests were made on 10 April 2001 and those arrested were subsequently charged and incarcerated under the Internal Security Act. They became known as the Reformasi 10.
With parliament dissolving on 11 November, parties were only left with 9 days' time to campaign between candidate nominations on 20 November and voting day on 29 November. The short campaign period drew criticism from the opposition, and the party entered the campaign with many of its key leaders under arrest. It also had to contend with the distribution of pornographic videocassettes implicating Anwar in the villages, as well as a lack of access to written and audiovisual media; the government denied opposition parties access to state-run public broadcaster Radio Televisyen Malaysia. Thus, despite the party winning 11.67% of the total votes cast, it only managed to win five parliamentary seats. Notably, Wan Azizah managed to secure victory in Permatang Pauh; the seat formerly held by her husband, with a majority of 9,077 votes. The Barisan Alternatif as a whole gained 40.21% of the total votes cast, with PAS winning 27 seats and DAP winning ten seats. The big opposition winner was PAS, which gained 20 seats as well as a majority in two state assemblies in Kelantan and Terengganu.
For the first time in Malaysia's history, UMNO, the dominant Malay-based party which had ruled the country for 40 years since independence, received less than half of the total vote of ethnic Malays. Despite losing 14 seats, two of which belonged to federal ministers, the BN coalition still secured a two-thirds majority of 148 seats.
The post election period saw negotiations between Keadilan and Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) on a possible merger. Despite some opposition in both parties to the move, a 13-point Memorandum of Understanding was eventually signed by the two parties on 5 July 2002. On 3 August 2003, the new merged entity was officially launched and assumed its current name. However, as PRM had yet to be de-registered by the authorities, dissident members took the opportunity to convene a national congress and revive the party under former youth leader Hassan Abdul Karim.
As the new amendments to the party constitution had yet to be approved by the Registrar of Societies, candidates from PRM contested the 2004 general election using the symbol of the old National Justice Party. The party fared poorly in the elections and only managed to retain one parliamentary seat, Permatang Pauh, despite winning 9% of the popular vote. The poor showing was later attributed to malapportionment and gerrymandering in the redelineation of constituencies, with one estimate suggesting that on average, a vote for the BN government was worth 28 times the vote of a KeADILan supporter.
On 2 September 2004, the Federal Court overturned Anwar's sodomy conviction. As he had already served the entirety of his sentence for his corruption conviction, he was set free. This unexpected turn of events came timely for PKR which was facing flagging morale due to its dismal performance in the elections.
In December 2005, PKR organised its second national congress. Among the motions passed was the New Economic Agenda that envisioned a non-racial economic policy to replace the race-based New Economic Policy. PKR managed a breakthrough into Sarawak politics in May 2006, a state traditionally known as a BN stronghold. In that year's Sarawak state elections, Dominique Ng Kim Ho, a lawyer and activist, won in the Padungan constituency in Kuching, a majority Chinese locale. The party narrowly lost in Saribas, a Malay-Melanau constituency, by just 94 votes. Afterwards, PKR pursued an aggressive strategy of attracting personalities from within and outside politics. In July 2006, Khalid Ibrahim, a former CEO of Permodalan Nasional Berhad and Guthrie, was appointed as treasurer of the party.
In the 2008 elections, PKR contested alongside DAP and PAS in a new coalition known as Pakatan Rakyat (PR). The party won 31 seats in parliament, while DAP and PAS won 28 and 23 seats respectively. The 82 seats won by the coalition denied BN a two-thirds majority against a backdrop of rises in inflation, crime, and ethnic tension.
PKR also successfully contested the state legislative elections which saw the loose coalition of PKR, DAP and PAS forming coalition governments in the states of Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor. The offices of the Menteri Besar of Selangor and the Deputy Chief Minister of Penang were held by PKR members, Khalid Ibrahim and , respectively.
Anwar's five-year ban from contesting elections, imposed on anyone sentenced to longer than a year in jail, ended on 14 April 2008. A gathering held by supporters celebrating the end of the ban was dispersed by police. Despite the ban, Anwar continued being widely seen as PKR's de facto leader throughout his imprisonment.
Anwar returned to parliament on 28 August 2008 following a landslide victory in the 2008 Permatang Pauh by-election, triggered by Wan Azizah's resignation. He was quoted as saying, "I'm glad to be back after a decade. The prime minister has lost the mandate of the country and the nation", Despite the claim, Anwar would need at least 30 defections from government lawmakers to form a majority.
In June 2010, the party's official newspaper, Suara Keadilan, was suspended over an article alleging that the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) had gone bankrupt. Government officials and Felda itself rejected the assertion as inaccurate. The Malaysian Home Ministry responded by issuing a show-cause letter to the publication demanding an explanation, to which the ministry stated that it was unsatisfied with the response given by the editors. The Home Ministry afterwards declined to renew the newspaper's publishing permit, which had expired on 30 June 2010, thereby halting its regular publication. The decision was made under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, which grants the ministry broad authority to regulate and revoke publication permits. The suspension drew criticism from civil society organisations and press freedom advocates, who viewed the move as a regulatory pressure on opposition-linked publications in Malaysia.
On 9 January 2012, Anwar Ibrahim was acquitted of a separate sodomy charge from 2008 by the Kuala Lumpur High Court, presided over by Judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah. He had been accused by his former aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, of sodomising him. The court determined that the prosecution had failed to establish elements of the offence beyond a reasonable doubt, leading to Anwar's full discharge from the case.
In early 2014, party strategy director Rafizi Ramli initiated the Kajang Move in a failed bid to install Anwar Ibrahim as the Menteri Besar of Selangor. The move aimed to consolidate opposition control in the state amid perceived weaknesses in the leadership of incumbent Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim. Proponents framed the move as an initiative intended to strengthen the coalition's rule and counter Barisan Nasional's influence by concentrating authority under a more assertive leader. The move began on 27 January 2014 when Kajang state assemblyman Lee Chin Cheh resigned from his seat, triggering a by-election. PKR intended for Anwar to contest and win the seat, which would allow his appointment as Menteri Besar through internal party reconfiguration.
However, the plan collapsed on 7 March when Anwar's acquittal in 2012 was overturned by the Court of Appeal. He was sentenced to five years in prison on sodomy charges, a verdict which disqualified him from holding public office that critics widely described as politically motivated. This prevented him from standing as a candidate in the 2014 Kajang by-election and potentially becoming Menteri Besar, although he remained a member of parliament pending the outcome of his appeal. The party subsequently nominated his wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, as their candidate instead.
Wan Azizah secured victory in the 23 March by-election with 59.6% of the vote against Barisan Nasional's candidate, but subsequent efforts to appoint her as Menteri Besar encountered resistance from the Selangor Sultan and internal Pakatan allies, particularly over constitutional and consensus issues. Critics, including former Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, described the move as an undemocratic âÂÂfiascoâ that bypassed electoral mandates and exposed internal power struggles within PKR. The political manoeuvre resulted in a nine-month political crisis within the Selangor state government and caused fractures within the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, requiring the involvement of the Royal Palace of Selangor. The crisis concluded with the appointment of PKR's Deputy President, Azmin Ali, as the 15th Menteri Besar of Selangor, and the expulsion of Khalid Ibrahim from the party. Most analysts regarded the Kajang Move as a failure.
In 2015, Anwar Ibrahim's conviction was upheld, and he was imprisoned for a second time. Without his influence, conflict immediately emerged between PAS and DAP regarding the implementation of sharia law in Kelantan and Terengganu, resulting in the dissolution of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition in June 2015. It was succeeded by a new coalition known as Pakatan Harapan (PH) in September 2015, formed by the remnants of Pakatan Rakyat and the newly established National Trust Party (AMANAH), a PAS splinter which consisted of moderate PAS leaders who were ousted during the party's 2015 leadership election. The new coalition emphasised multiracial reformism, with a common manifesto pledging anti-corruption measures, electoral reforms, and economic redistribution to counter the long-standing dominance of Barisan Nasional.
The earlier split with PAS had left PKR and DAP without a Malay support base. However, this was supplemented by the entry of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU) in March 2017 as the fourth coalition partner. The UMNO splinter was led by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, and it brought veteran leadership while bolstering the coalition's Malay appeal against the ruling BN government. The entry of Mahathir's party marked the reconciliation of Anwar Ibrahim and Mahathir Mohamad, two longtime enemies since the former's imprisonment by the latter in 1998.
As the main opposition from 2015 to 2018, PKR challenged BN's rule through the PH coalition by highlighting scandals, such as the 1MDB fund mismanagement, where investigations revealed over US$4.5 billion in diverted assets linked to the accounts of then-Prime Minister Najib Razak. PH leveraged parliamentary scrutiny, public rallies, and protests organised by the Bersih coalition to erode BN's legitimacy.
When the 14th general election was held on 9 May 2018, Pakatan Harapan (PH) secured 113 of the 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat, surpassing the 112 seats needed to form the government. The outcome ended 61 years of uninterrupted Barisan Nasional rule since Malaysia's independence in 1957. Meanwhile, PKR won 47 seats to became the largest party within the PH coalition. Mahathir Mohamad was sworn in as the seventh prime minister by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at the Istana Negara on 10 May, and at the age of 92, became the world's oldest serving head of government at the time. The cabinet was formed with 25 members, including PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as deputy prime minister.
Early governance focused on fulfilling manifesto promises from PH's "Buku Harapan" document, which outlined 10 key actions within the first 100 days, such as abolishing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and recovering misappropriated public funds. The government also established a special task force to investigate the 1MDB scandal, leading to the seizure of assets from Najib Razak and charges against him for corruption and money laundering. Additional initial measures included reviewing mega infrastructure projects like the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) for inflated costs and announcing the intention to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).
As stipulated within the manifesto, a full royal pardon by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was granted to imprisoned opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, allowing his release from Sungai Buloh Prison on 16 May 2018 after serving time on sodomy charges. Widely considered to be the prime minister-in-waiting, Anwar returned to parliament once again through the 2018 Port Dickson by-election triggered by the resignation of Danyal Balagopal Abdullah, a move commonly dubbed as the "PD Move".
However, progress on broader structural reforms, such as parliamentary re-delineation and anti-corruption reforms, proved slower amidst intracoalition differences and bureaucratic resistance. By August 2018, only a fraction of the 100-day pledges had been fully realised, with critics noting delays in economic stabilisation efforts such as price controls for essential goods. Gross domestic product growth declined from 5.9 percent in 2018 to 4.3 percent in 2019 due to global trade tensions and domestic fiscal tightening. Consequently, the coalition faced difficulty in fulfilling its manifesto, including partial toll reductions and subsidy rationalisation, caused by the period of economic slowdown.
Tensions gradually emerged over the planned transition of power from Mahathir Mohamad to Anwar Ibrahim, which had been set out in the manifesto to take place within two years. The situation was exacerbated by Mahathir's repeated refusal to hand over power, citing the need to complete reforms and Anwar's pending legal clearance process. The dispute began creating a rift within PKR and strained the coalition's unity towards the end of 2019. Within the party, internal division began widening between Anwar's leadership and the faction supporting deputy president Azmin Ali, who was seen as closer to Mahathir. This led to public disputes and eventual defections which weakened the party's cohesion.
The chain of events eventually culminated in the 2020âÂÂ2022 Malaysian political crisis, triggered by Mahathir's sudden resignation as prime minister on 24 February 2020. He did not provide a stated reason, though reports indicated the move preempted an imminent parliamentary vote to appoint Anwar. His abrupt resignation brought an end to the Pakatan Harapan government after 22 months. The resulting power vacuum led to rapid realignments among members of parliament in an episode dubbed the "Sheraton Move", named after the Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel where defecting lawmakers met on 23 and 24 February to gather support for an alternative government.
The result was the formation of a coalition known as Perikatan Nasional (PN) on 29 February between BERSATU, PAS, and defectors from PKR aligned to Azmin, with a new government being formed on 1 March by Muhyiddin Yassin of BERSATU. A majority in parliament was obtained through the defections of eleven PKR members of parliament: Azmin Ali (Gombak), Zuraida Kamaruddin (Ampang), Saifuddin Abdullah (Indera Mahkota), Kamarudin Jaffar (Bandar Tun Razak), Mansor Othman (Nibong Tebal), Mohd Rashid Hasnon (Batu Pahat), Edmund Santhara (Segamat), Ali Biju (Saratok), Willie Mongin (Puncak Borneo), Jonathan Yasin (Ranau), and Baru Bian (Selangau). All except Baru Bian chose to align with the Perikatan Nasional government formed afterwards, and they were later joined by Jugah Muyang (Lubok Antu), an independent who only joined PKR after the 2018 election.
The party subsequently suffered an exodus of members aligned with Azmin nationwide, including elected representatives at the state level, which caused the PN takeover of two state governments. Most notable was Chong Fat Full (Pemanis), who secured a majority for PN in Johor, along with Robert Ling Kui Ee (Sidam) and Azman Nasrudin (Lunas), whose defections led to a similar outcome in Kedah. Daroyah Alwi (Sementa), the Deputy Speaker of the Selangor legislative assembly, and Afif Bahardin (Seberang Jaya), a former vice youth chief, were also among the notable defections from the party. Meanwhile, those remaining who were close to Azmin were later expelled, including Haniza Talha (Lembah Jaya), the Women's Chief of the party, as well as Penang assemblyman Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sungai Acheh) and Sabah assemblyman Kenny Chua Teck Ho (Inanam).
Defections continued into 2021 when two MPs, Steven Choong (Tebrau) and Larry Sng (Julau), resigned from the party to form Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) and declare support for the ruling PN government. The last MP to leave the party was PKR vice-president Xavier Jayakumar (Kuala Langat), who cited 'frustrations' with the events of the past year and subsequently became a PN-aligned independent.
The party returned to power following the 2022 general election on 19 November 2022 when the Pakatan Harapan coalition won a plurality of 82 seats. PKR was reduced to 31 seats from the 47 won previously, losing its status as the largest Pakatan Harapan component to DAP, which had won 40 seats. The party, through the PH coalition, had campaigned on its "Tawaran Harapan" manifesto, launched on 2 November, which emphasised tackling cost-of-living pressures, strengthening institutional independence, and pursuing anti-corruption efforts. A coalition government, colloquially known as the "unity government", was formed between Pakatan Harapan and its former adversaries, including Barisan Nasional, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), and several minor parties, with Anwar Ibrahim appointed as the tenth prime minister.
The unity arrangement marked a departure from Pakatan Harapan's pre-election opposition to Barisan Nasional, signalling a change in priorities with stability and continuity in governance being prioritised in response to sustained challenges from Perikatan Nasional. The formation drew criticism from segments within the party, particularly among grassroots members who had long opposed UMNO, which was seen as representing the political establishment that the party sought to challenge since its founding in 1998. Grassroots resistance centred on concerns over political consistency and credibility, with members expressing unease that cooperation with UMNO contradicted earlier reformist positions. Historical animosity between UMNO and PKR also complicated cooperation at the grassroots level, where distrust persisted despite alignment at the leadership level.
Efforts to stabilise the government focused on coalition consensus and gradual policy implementation to prevent fragmentation, while Anwar stressed political stability as the basis for economic recovery. The cabinet appointed in December 2022 reflected a multi-party balance, with ministerial portfolios distributed among PH components and coalition partners to reduce internal rivalries and maintain support from BN and East Malaysian parties.
A supporter of liberal democracy, PKR's constitution has as one of its core principles, the establishment of "a society that is just and a nation that is democratic, progressive and united". In practice, the party has primarily focused on promoting social justice, economic justice, eliminating political corruption and human rights issues within a non-ethnic framework.
The party has also been described as having socially conservative and Islamic reformist factions influenced by the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (ABIM), of which Anwar was once a president, which actively promotes Islamic values and maqasid syariah within its political platform.
PKR has 31 members in the House of Representatives.
Selangor State Legislative Assembly Penang State Legislative Assembly Negeri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly Perak State Legislative Assembly
Perlis State Legislative Assembly Pahang State Legislative Assembly Kedah State Legislative Assembly Sabah State Legislative Assembly
Johor State Legislative Assembly Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Malacca State Legislative Assembly Kelantan State Legislative Assembly
Terengganu State Legislative Assembly
PKR currently leads the government of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan and served as junior partner in several states governed by Pakatan Harapan, GRS and Barisan Nasional
Note: bold as Menteri Besar/Chief Minister, italic as junior partner
<div style="width: 100%; overflow:auto; border: 2px solid #088">
</div>