Gunfight for deputy sheriff: Enter dark horse

ARCHIVES 2010

By admin-s On Sep 17, 2010

(FMT) KUALA LUMPUR: PKR’s former deputy secretary-general P Jenapala has tossed his hat into the ring for the upcoming battle for deputy presidency. The party veteran, who resigned from his post when he became bankrupt in 2008, announced his candidacy at a press conference held at a restaurant here today.

Currently, the top contenders for the number two slot are vice-president Azmin Ali and former law minister and supreme council member Zaid Ibrahim.

“I represent the working class, the layman’s representative,” said Jenapala, who beamed with confidence.

“I believe 95% of the members are grassroots members and they will support me. Most of the party leaders are towkays and professionals who don’t understand the feelings of the grassroots,” added the 56-year-old security firm manager.

According to Jenapala, there is a lot of frustration in the party, evident from meetings and conventions held, that Indians and the grassroots members were not well represented in the party, and he was here to fill that void.

He spelt out four objectives for him to contest the post:

1. to have fair representation and respect for the Indian community within PKR.

2. to test the democratic process in PKR – does it truly exist?

3. to re-affirm PKR as a plural, multi-racial party.

4. to return PKR to the people, to the grassroots members.

“Our party membership data shows us that approximately 40% of PKR membership is made up of Indians. Yet we remain under-represented in this party,” said the former informal national coordinating Indian committee chairman.

“Some members have questioned if Indians are treated with dignity to begin with. Some time back there was a story where a well-known senior PKR leader openly called an Indian leader ‘pariah’.