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The bubble had popped after it effectively lost Perak.

It was time to get down to serious business, especially as party vice-president Azmin Ali pointed out, if the alliance wanted to turn the three upcoming by-elections into another referendum for the prime minister-in-the-wings, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Machang MP, Saifuddin Nasution, who had been appointed the party’s director of strategies and tasked to come out with an analysis of the alliance’s wins and losses, wasted no time spelling out the challenges ahead.

“Our biggest challenge is to maintain the rhythm and support from the young voters,” he bluntly told the audience, mostly made out of party members.

It would be no easy task, Saifuddin warned.

The young voters were mostly urban or suburban and were a knowledgeable, discerning lot, and expected to be granted good governance, an efficient delivery system and a bigger space to express their opinions.

“The rakyat are looking at how we manage the expectations of the people,” he added, emphasising the need for the party to stand united more than ever before.

The speakers that came after laid bare the focus points.

Datin Paduka Dr Tan Yee Kew, the former Wanita MCA iron lady who crossed over to PKR last year and is now a supreme council member, reminded the audience of the women’s role in furthering the cause of justice.

Human rights activists Irene Fernandez and Baru Bian, who is also PKR Sarawak liaison, expounded on the need to include and engage the minorities, including the much-neglected Sabah and Sarawak bumiputeras to push the agenda for change forward.

Anwar too recognised the need for an inclusive style of reform, what he brands “Ketuanan Rakyat” or supremacy of the people.

He ended his hour-long address with words from the late nationalist Dr Burhanuddin Al-Helmy, taken from his 1954 book Falsafah Kebangsaan Melayu:

“Kita hendak mendirikan negara kebangsaan Melayu di atas dasar kebangsaan, menurut keadilan dan kemanusiaan yang luas dan sama berhak dan adil, bukan sekali-kali kebangsaan yang sempit, jauh sejauh-jauhnya dari berbau perkauman dan perasaan kolot dan kuno. (We must build a Malay nation on the principles of nationalism, according to justice and humanity for all, never nationalism that is narrow, and as distant as possible from the stench of racism and outdated sentiments.)”