Three Kedah PKR executive councillors quit all posts in party

(The Sun Daily) – Three Kedah PKR state executive councillors not fielded to contest the 13th General Election (GEZ13) today announced their immediate resignation from all posts in the party.

Datuk S. Manikumar, Lim Soo Nee and Tan Joon Long alias Tan Chow Kang claimed that they had been betrayed by the party leadership.

“We were betrayed,” declared Manikumar, who was the Kedah PKR vice-president III, speaking also for Lim and Tan.

Manikumar was also the Cabang Merbok PKR deputy chairman; Tan was the Kedah PKR vice-chairman, Sungai Petani PKR vice-chairman and head of the Keadilan team for the Kedah and Perlis Chinese; and Lim was the Kedah PKR Complaints Bureau chief.

Manikumar said they unanimously agreed to quit all their posts in the party because they had been betrayed by certain leaders in the party.

Manikumar said this had created uncertainty in Kedah politics because there was a drop in overall support in 10 constituencies contested by the PKR in Kedah.

Manikumar is the incumbent for the Bukit Selambau state seat which he won in a by-election in 2009 with a majority of 2,403 votes.

“I was not given the opportunity to defend the seat,” he told a media conference here.

The trio will remain as PKR members but would not participate in party matters, including attending meetings. Manikumar said they were disappointed because they were not given any explanation by the PKR top leadership why they were dropped as candidates.

He said they were among the five top state leaders and were also in the state leadership council. Even the Kedah PKR chairman Datuk Wan Salleh Wan Isa himself was not notified about their being dropped, he said.

Tan said he was too disheartened to cooperate with PKR after having been isolated by the party.

Lim said the decision to resign was taken after a discussion with Wan Salleh, and he was advised to go ahead.

“I resigned not because I was dropped as a candidate but for other reasons. I expected to be dropped as a candidate,” he said.