GEORGE TOWN: PKR’s continued internal dissension does not look like it's going to cease anytime soon.
Party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sought to distance himself from 20 PKR central committee members calling for him to revoke the sacking of two of its members and apologise over the move which allegedly did not follow procedures.
The demands were contained in memorandum submitted to the PKR Disciplinary Committee, and was signed by party deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
Anwar claimed that the memorandum had been manipulated.
He said the memorandum in question was made by 20 persons but it did not actually reach the figure as one did not attend the meeting and another had since been sacked.
“But this morning (PKR vice president) Tian Chua and (PKR central leadership council member) R.Sivarasa and a few other had contacted me and told me that the statement (in the memorandum) was inaccurate."
The memorandum among others called for Bera PKR division chief Zakaria Abdul Hamid dismissal to be revoked as it was invalid, in that it did not undergo due process.
The memorandum also called for Anwar to apologise over the sacking of Zakaria and party member Ismail Dulhadi.
The duo were sacked by the PKR Central Leadership Council (MPP) meeting after it found the duo to be involved in corrupt practices during party elections last September.
The memorandum was signed by Deputy PKR President Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali and 19 other PKR central committee members. The others are vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin, Tian Chua, Haniza Mohamed Talha, Hilman Idham, Dr Daroyah Alwi, Amiruddin Shaari, Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon, Sivarasa Rasiah, Rahimah Majid, Elizabeth Wong, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, Zakaria Abdul Hamid, Radzlan Jalaluddin, Datuk Dr Mansor Othman, Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar, Azmizam Zaman Huri, Gan Pei Nei, Hee Loy Sian and Datuk Seri R Santhara Kumar.
“The memorandum was partly true, in that it demanded the disciplinary committee to review (Zakaria's sacking)…but in the statement it also appears to object to the (party) president and demands the president to apologise.
“That according to the others was not the (actual) statement (in the memorandum) which means that the statement was manipulated,” he said at a press conference after attending a dialogue on Islam and Confucianism at the SPICE Arena here today.
On who is likely to have altered the original statement in the memorandum, Anwar said he does not know who it was but the content of the statement was not agreed upon by all.
“Some part of the statement was agreed and some parts, they said, was not in the draft, so let them clear that first,” he said.
Anwar who is the Port Dickson MP said he had no problem with members making an appeal as it was their right.
In fact he had urged the party disciplinary committee headed by Ahmad Kassim to review and refer any appeal to the PKR central leadership council.
PKR has been embroiled in factional fight over the past one year, with the ante being upped in recent days by factions headed by Azmin and the other by Anwar in recent days.
Anwar stressed that the issue at hand was not power struggle but that of opposing injustice and corruption, the reason why PKR was formed in the first place.
At the same press conference, PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution revealed details of a Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) probe against Zakaria.
The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs minister said PKR received the letter on Oct 23, which specifically named the offender, his offence as well as provide details on the date, venue and number of people involved and those being questioned.
He said the authenticity of the letter was also verified by MACC deputy commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki.
According to the MACC, Zakaria had allegedly offered RM20,000 for a project involving the Public Works Department.
"There is also a statement by the MACC prosecuting officer recommending action be taken against Zakaria.
"What do we do?” he asked.
Saifuddin, who is also Kulim-Bandar Bahru MP, said the MACC report was presented to the party’s leadership council, which made its decision based on the statement by the country’s graft agency.
Saifuddin said then a letter was sent to Zakaria, who has two weeks to appeal.
"After reading the contents of the letter, do you think we should apologise?"