PKR branch leaders out for his neck for swapping seats with DAP

(The Star) – Baru Bian, the newly elected Ba’Kelalan assemblyman, could be facing a revolt in PKR with branch leaders calling for disciplinary action against him.

PKR branch leaders of Bandar Kuching and Sibu yesterday went public with their dissatisfaction with their state chief over the swapping of Padungan for DAP’s Batu Lintang in the state polls on April 16.

Never mind that PKR won Batu Lintang, the leaders were angry that the former Padungan assemblyman Dominique Ng, who was a state PKR advisor, was dropped. Ng ultimately left the party to defend the seat as an independent candidate, only to garner 439 votes and lose his election deposit.

Bandar Kuching PKR acting chief Yong Seng Chan claimed that the seat-swapping decision was a “secretive, last-minute sell-out of a party comrade”.

He did not say what form of disciplinary action he expected the party’s leadership to take against Baru but he made it clear that the party should not be tarnished by “dirty politics”.

Thrusting the dagger deeper, Sibu PKR executive member Robert Lim said Baru should step down as he did not consult PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the swap deal.

This is not the first time PKR members had tried to undermine Baru’s leadership. Baru could not be reached for comment yesterday.