SIBU: Outgoing PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail's visit to Julau yesterday has courted criticism from Latheefa Koya.
The PKR central leadership council member said the visit, even if it was in Wan Azizah's capacity as Deputy Prime Minister is seen as a case of bad timing, particularly as Sarawak will be holding its PKR party election this weekend.
"In Sarawak, the polling process in the Julau division this Nov 10 will be controversial. In fact, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is also investigating the issue of a sudden spike in the number of members in the division.
"Julau MP Larry Sng Wei Shien who is also contesting the division's chief post is also being investigated by the MACC with regard to the controversy," she said in a statement today.
All eyes have been on the Julau division following an increase of members from 603 to 13,000 on June 27. This led to a report being lodged with the MACC.
It is understood that the MACC has already recorded Sng's statement and seized related documents from the Julau MP's service centre last week to assist in investigation.
Calls have been made for a transparent election process, particularly for the post of deputy president in which the candidates are Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali and Mohd Rafizi Ramli.
Elaborating, Latheefa said Wan Azizah was also seen accompanying Sng throughout the visit. The lawyer pointed out that Sng had previously openly announced his support for Rafizi.
"Why can't the Deputy Prime Minister visit (Julau) after the party election?
"It must be remembered that Julau has 13,000 members which makes it the division with the most number of members in Sarawak. That makes the division capable of becoming a deciding force in the PKR election process," Latheefa said.
Wan Azizah's visit to Julau was also done in her capacity as a Cabinet member, Latheefa claimed, where a RM100,000 allocation to build a road in the area was announced with Sng present.
"It is important for the Deputy Prime Minister to explain the rational behind her visit to Julau so close to the Sarawak PKR election," she said.