SHAH ALAM: In admitting today that PKR’s election system is weak, party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also confessed that he ordered the approval of the controversial Julau poll results to prevent further discord.
The decision effectively handed over Julau to incumbent deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali.
The Julau election became one of the most contested in the bitter PKR leadership polls when the number of PKR members in the constituency allegedly swelled from 603 people to 13,549 in the span of one day.
The discovery that several e-voting tablets in Julau had been hacked created an uproar and led to calls for a re-election.
Former PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli – who is aligned with Anwar and was vying for the deputy presidential post – was the harshest critic of the Julau discrepancies and alleged sabotage.
Nevertheless, the party Election Committee moved to validate the results received on the Nov 10 polling day.
“I know about the (dissatisfaction) over Julau in Sarawak. But I am taking a stand here and facing the problem head-on.
“I want to explain why I had suggested to the political bureau to close the Julau case. If I am wrong, please forgive me.
“It was my decision (to have the Julau results validated). On polling day, Election Committee chairman Datuk Rashid Din called me at 4am to inform me that the tablets had been tampered with.
“I told him if that if it were true, the matter should be looked into. (I told him to suspend) the election immediately.
“But after three days of meetings, I decided to ‘interfere’ and suggest that a re-election should not be held.
“(Because) if we held a re-election, the people would say that the Julau votes had determined the outcome of the deputy president contest.
“(So) I decided to (order the validation of the results), even though I was not at all satisfied. I wanted to save the party and ensure that the election ended according to schedule,” Anwar said in his maiden speech as party president to close PKR’s 13th National Congress today.
Anwar said he apologises to those who believe that he had been unprincipled for making the decision, despite the voting discrepancies.
“I called Rafizi to talk about the issue. (And) I thank him for accepting my explanation,” he added.
Anwar conceded that the e-voting system is weak and led to much confusion and frustration during the party polls.
He also pointed out that some party election workers were found to have abused their powers and were biased when discharging their duties.
“There were party election workers who abused their powers They did not know that when they are tasked with such duties, they have to put aside their (personal) sentiments.
“Over the course of three months, PKR’s image was tarnished,” he said.
Anwar said he drew flak from certain quarters for not making a stand amidst the unfolding chaos of the party election.
“They wanted me to resign if I would not make a stand.
“But they did not know that I could not interfere (by taking sides). I did not want to do that.
“They wanted everything to be clean – but (also) called for my interference,” he said.