Nurul’s ‘disqualification’ fuels conspiracy theory
(Free Malaysia Today) – FULL REPORT: Several PKR leaders have criticised the decision to disallow Nurul Izzah Anwar from contesting the deputy president post, with some sugesting that it could be a conspiracy. They also claimed to be in the dark about the so-called Oct 10 deadline for divisions to submit nominations for the candidates of their choice.
PKR vice-president Jeffrey Kitingan said Nurul must be allowed to contest for the post as she had the right to do so after acquiring the necessary nominations.
“What the party is doing to Nurul is an injustice,” he told FMT.
“The election committee should reflect very seriously on this issue, and consider the implications on the party. At the end of the day, Malaysians, and the whole world, are watching to see if we in PKR practise what we preach,” he said.
Jeffrey also described the Oct 10 deadline as “unfair”.
“I myself am not aware of this deadline. I had not seen any circular on this matter,” he said.
Yesterday, secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution, information chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, election administration officer Raden Shamsulkamar Raden Shamsudin and election committee officer Wong Hoy Cheong issued separate statements regarding Nurul’s ineligibility to contest.
In a related development, FMT learnt that Nurul had obtained at least two other nominations for the deputy’s post from Sabah and Sarawak, with the Selangau division submitting its nomination list yesterday and Semporna to submit today to the PKR headquarters.
Semporna division officials told FMT that they were not aware that the closing day for nominations was Oct 10. Several other divisions in the peninsula also indicated the same and were under the impression that they had until Oct 16 to submit the list of nominees.
“The deadline was never told to us at all and we feel that the decision of the party leadership is unfair and we are disappointed by that,” said Selangao division chief Steven Epay.
“Any information on the submission deadline should have been publicised to allow each division to act accordingly. We see this as a shortcoming of the management for failing to coordinate the party’s internal elections and we hope that this was not a deliberate action to block Nurul from contesting.
“We want the party to accept the nominations provided by the divisions as every name that has been nominated can bring change to the party,” he added.
Division chief: Is this a conspiracy?
Semporna division chief Lokman Uri asked if there was a “conspiracy” to stop Nurul from contesting for the post.
“We were never informed of the deadline and it is unfair to deny Nurul to stand for deputy based on that. We hope that the party would receive the nomination not only to ensure that there is transparency in the party election, but also to prove that the party really chooses to practise democracy and not work as a stepping-stone for certain individuals to fulfil their personal agendas,” he said.
Meanwhile, PKR election committee chairman Molly Cheah told FMT that she was not aware with the party stand.
“I do not know Saifuddin’s statement on the Oct 10 date. I was not informed by him, I will discuss with him regarding this,” she said.
Currently, the battle for deputy presidency is between vice-president Azmin Ali, Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, supreme council member Zaid Ibrahim and vice-president Mustaffa Kamil Ayub.
Last week, Zaid vowed to withdraw from the race and back Nurul if the latter decided to contest.
Should Nurul enter the fray, it would be in direct conflict with her father, PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim’s purported plan to install Azmin as number two.
Below is what the other leaders said:
