Democracy PKR style

PKR's show-cause letters to Sabah 12 tied to party polls?

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:28

By FMT Staff

PETALING JAYA: The recent move by PKR to issue show-cause letters to 12 Sabah grassroots leaders have prompted many to speculate on the alleged role played by a national leader who wants to go places in the party.

Sources told FMT that the letters could have been issued with the intention of sacking these 12 from the party, making it easier for their rivals to win party posts at division and state levels, due to be held by November.

“The complainant is a local leader who plans to contest in the party polls and he has the backing of an ambitious national leader.

“The national leader's calculation is that once these 12 influential local leaders are removed, it would be easier for him to gain support from the divisions in Sabah for his own plans.

“This leader is also aware that the 12 have indicated their support to other national-level leaders in the party, including one or two leaders who are close rivals to him,” they said.

FMT learnt that the show-cause letters were issued in late July and signed by party secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

The letters sought explanations from the 12, which included at least six division leaders, for their role in the proposed establishment of Parti Cinta Sabah.

The idea of the new party was mooted by some Sabah PKR leaders following a massive fallout between PKR vice-president Jeffrey Kitingan and Azmin Ali, which resulted in Jeffrey being replaced as the state chief.

However, under a peace plan inked by the party headquarters here, Jeffrey was made responsible for both Sabah and Sarawak and another person was put in charge of the state.

The peace deal also ensured that there will be no witchhunt against those who had allegedly plotted against the party.

“But now it looks like the details of the peace plan have been ignored. This is a grand design by some with self-interest and with no intention in making the party strong,” they added. They refused to reveal their identities for fears fo reprisal.

Saboteurs at work

But this “grand design” has failed to materialise following a decision by the party's all-powerful political bureau not to pursue the matter with the 12 Sabah leaders.

The decision was believed to have been made three weeks ago in a meeting which was chaired by party leader Anwar Ibrahim.

“This has caused some anger among the rivals of these 12. It has also put a dent in the plans of the national leader but we are sure that they are planning something else,” added the sources.

When contacted, representatives for the 12 said that they were happy with the decision not to take any action against them.

“The cases against us are closed... we hope not to see any more surprises in the run-up to the party polls,” they said.

In recent weeks, certain leaders in PKR have been accused of employing underhand tactics to gain unfair advantage for the forthcoming party polls.

The November polls will see PKR members voting directly to elect their leaders. Nominations are set to start at the middle of next month.

“It is in preparation for the polls that we see certain leaders embarking in 'killing off' the chances of their potential rivals,” said a party insider.

The insider believed that even the spy camera found hidden in Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim's office last week could be the work of these people.

“There is talk that Khalid wants to contest for one of the top posts. The camera could be put there to spy on which grassroots leaders he was meeting and what he was planning,” he added.

Likewise, the party's Johor chief Chua Jui Meng could also have been a victim of internal sabotage when banners of him and the Sultan of Johor appeared in Batu Pahat last week. The banners proclaimed Chua as the next Johor menteri besar.