KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim must state his stand regarding the way in which the Port Dickson parliamentary seat was vacated for him, Zuraida Kamaruddin said today.
The Wanita PKR chief said that PKR, which was founded by Anwar, must first uphold the principles of transparency and democracy.
She added that while Anwar’s return to mainstream politics was highly anticipated by all PKR members, the process by which important matters is decided has to be with the consensus of party members to avoid confusion among the public.
“It is important for the entire PKR leadership to uphold the reform agenda which we have been fighting for all this while. I truly hope Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim himself will state his stand regarding this,” Zuraida said in a statement.
“Each decision made by this party must be executed using the musyawarah concept, to get support from all members of the party, and consensus must be reached in line with the spirit of democracy and reformasi.
“I am worried that if the decision-making process is not done openly, transparently and democratically, it will create confusion among the rakyat, appearing as if PKR has been manipulated by certain groups,” she said.
Another PKR leader, Latheefa Koya questioned the process by which incumbent Port Dickson MP Datuk Danyal Balagopal Abdullah was made to vacate his seat.
She claimed this was done without proper consultation with the rest of the party leadership.
“Why did you decide without going through the party mechanism — not through biropol nor central committee? Why did you plan secretively? Why didn’t you even inform your top leadership, and why did you let your boy run around… fighting with anyone in his way? What reformasi are you talking about? What democracy are you talking about? #janjiakupm,”, she said.
Several of PKR’s top leaders held a press conference this afternoon, together with Danyal, where he announced his decision to step down to make way for Anwar.
Anwar was not be present as he is on his way back from Hong Kong and is only scheduled to arrive later this evening.
Following earlier speculation of Anwar’s candidacy, the National Patriots Association lamented that the move could encounter a “backlash” from voting servicemen in Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan if Danyal — a retired admiral — was forced to make way for him.
The group representing retired security personnel pointed out that PKR took an unlikely victory in the coastal town during the general election as the military personnel there chose Danyal to represent them.
