PETALING JAYA, April 13 — Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali has rejected its secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s claim that PKR is a Malay-dominated party since its establishment.

He said PKR’s principle is to ensure that the party’s struggle could nurture a new political culture in the country, regardless of race and religion.

“Keadilan has never been a Malay-based party...this party has a big responsibility of ensuring that a new political culture could be injected into the country’s political system, that is, politics that is not based on race and religion.

“It’s true that at the early stage, it was not easy to introduce a multiracial party culture. But after almost 15 years, we are able to prove that the country’s new generation could accept the reality that racial politics should be rejected and that multiracial politics should flourish,” he told a news conference in conjunction with the nomination day of Selangor PKR involving 22 divisions.

Azmin was asked to comment on Saifuddin’s statement in an English language newspaper’s Sunday edition yesterday that PKR was still Malay-dominated and the party’s non-Malay members had accepted the reality.

“PKR is still a Malay-based party. That is the reality. I think the non-Malays in the party have also accepted that,” Saifuddin was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Azmin who is defending his party deputy president post in the PKR elections this time, said the party’s future should not be determined by a pact or formation strategy.

“Well, I have said earlier that my prime concern is that formations or groupings are not healthy for the future of the party. I had stressed yesterday that ultimately, what would determine the party’s future were the members, and not groupings, cartels or teams.”

He said this when asked to comment on Saifuddin’s open statement that he had formed an alliance with two of the candidates for the vice-president posts, Nurul Izzah Anwar and Rafizi Ramli, for the party elections.

For the deputy president post, besides Saifuddin, Azmin will also be challenged by Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and a new face, Datuk L. Ramachandran.

For the post of president, the contenders will be the incumbent Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her husband and PKR de facto leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

For the four vice-president posts, there will be a 15-cornered contest while 76 candidates are vying for the 20 seats in the party’s Central Leadership Council. — Bernama