PETALING JAYA • The feud involving the two top leaders of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Malaysia's biggest political party with 50 MPs in Parliament, is flaring up again after a lull of just a few weeks.
A group of 44 PKR leaders, including MPs and state assemblymen, issued a statement asking party leaders, headed by president Anwar Ibrahim, to drop all actions against a key member of the rival faction.
Led by PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali, the statement from his faction came out in defence of a party vice-president, Madam Zuraida Kamaruddin, who is also Minister of Housing and Local Government.
Madam Zuraida had earlier been served a show-cause letter by the PKR leadership over her controversial comments against top party leaders last month.
This followed last week's sacking by the Anwar faction of seven central youth wing leaders aligned to the Azmin group, a move that shocked the latter's faction as the two rival sides had agreed only last month to step back from feuding in public, an issue that has riled Malaysians who are more concerned with cost-of-living issues.
The bitter infighting boils down to Datuk Seri Anwar trying to gain full control of the 20-year-old party, while his deputy, Mr Azmin, and his faction want more say after building up the party when Mr Anwar was in jail. And while Mr Anwar's group is agitating to make him Malaysian premier by May this year, Mr Azmin wants Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to continue leading the country until the next general elections in 2023.
In the statement issued on Wednesday, the Azmin-led group accused those who gave Madam Zuraida the show-cause letter of doing it in bad faith and being jealous of her achievements.
Among the 44 signatories were PKR central council members, Cabinet ministers and deputy ministers, including Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, Works Minister Baru Bian, Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, deputy ministers Sivarasa Rasiah and Kamaruddin Jaafar, and PKR vice-presidents Tian Chua and Ali Biju.
The statement said: "The act of demonstrating in front of the party headquarters on Jan 18 and the Housing and Local Government Ministry on Jan 21 has stained the image of the party and the government." It added: "The sacking of the seven central youth wing leaders by letter on Jan 15 is against the party Constitution and betrays the voices of the grassroots members who elected them."
The statement also said comments made openly by several PKR state chairmen demanding Madam Zuraida's sacking "made matters worse" as both factions had agreed not to issue any provocative statements in public.
"We are of the opinion that the actions and pressure to sack Zuraida is mala fide (bad faith) as it stems from jealousy of her success and leadership as the Housing and Local Government Minister," it said.
It added: "She has exhibited commitment to be proud of and introduced a dynamic working culture in the ministry."
The group is demanding that all disciplinary actions against Madam Zuraida be dropped immediately.
THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
