More Kita members criticise their president Zaid
(Bernama) – KUALA LUMPUR: Temperatures are rising in KITA as more members of the Central Executive Committee criticise its president Datuk Zaid Ibrahim for his “unethical and unconstitutional” sacking of three CEC members recently.
In an e-mail to Bernama, CEC member Mohd Zahrein Zakariah said he would call for an extraordinary general meeting as a legal way of urging Zaid to step down.
Central secretary Abdul Latif A Tambi, treasurer Rashid Azad Khan and CEC member Muhammad Firdaus Christopher were said to have been dismissed without any “substantial reason” via e-mail and short messaging system.
“There is no bickering in KITA. There are only those who have decided to go against the principle on which KITA is built, and they include the party chief, Zaid Ibrahim,” he added.
In an organisation declaring itself democratic, dissent must be heard, not shut out, Zahrein said.
Zaid was reported to have said that Firdaus was unhappy over cuts in the operational budget of the party, while it is understood that Abdul Latif was dismissed because he refused to give the KITA website password to the president.
Firdaus, however, denied that the disagreement between them was over the operational budget.
“That’s just a smokescreen to divert from the real issue, which is how the party is being run.
“I was only questioning the way he conducted party matters since he always tended to make decisions without referring to the rest of the CEC,” Firdaus said.
CEC member and coordinator for the Federal Territory Dr Rajaratnam Gopal Pillai said Zaid had never listened to advice from the CEC and the grassroots.
“I have repeatedly advised Zaid to look into the grievances of the CEC and to keep the committee intact, failing which there was a high probability that the party would implode,” he said.
Setting up the party nine months ago, Zaid had said KITA would be critical but constructive and focus on issues of interest to the people, and would not oppose for the sake of opposing.
He pledged to strive to make KITA the number one opposition party, and be very different from PAS, the DAP and PKR. But if the internal problems are not resolved, observers believe that KITA may not be ready for the coming general election. – BERNAMA
