Kak Wan is expected to be queried over impromptu launch of new pact

(The Star) – PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (pic) is expected to face a tough time at the party’s emergency supreme council meeting next Sunday.

The meeting was called after 25 supreme council members petitioned for it to discuss Dr Wan Azizah’s impromptu launch of new opposition pact, Pakatan Harapan, on Sept 21.

The announcement was made by Dr Wan Azizah after a roundtable meeting involving opposition parties as well as non-governmental organisations to discuss the opposition’s impending role and direction in national politics.

Surprisingly, one of Dr Wan Azizah’s loyalists, Selangor executive councillor Elizabeth Wong, is also a signatory of the petition, along with Batu MP Tian Chua, Padang Serai MP N. Surendran, Petaling Jaya Selatan MP Lee Hoy Sian and Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin.

Other prominent supreme council members who signed the petition are Sri Muda assemblyman Shuhaimi Shafiei, Kampung Medan assemblyman Haniza Talha, Kota Anggerik assemblyman Dr Yaakob Sapari and Batu Caves assemblyman Amirudin Shari.

A PKR insider said party leaders were taken aback when Dr Wan Azizah launched the new coalition pact without it being discussed at the supreme council level.

“What was discussed was for the roundtable meeting to be a preliminary gathering for brainstorming,” said the insider, adding that the plan was for more discussions to be held before anything was announced or decided on the opposition’s future.

The petition, which was signed on Sept 22, stated that Pakatan Harapan’s launch contravened the decision made at the PKR supreme council meeting on Sept 20.

“We were shocked with what transpired after the roundtable meeting, because some of us feel that PAS must not be excluded from the pact,” said the insider.

He added that there was also suspicion within a small circle of PKR leaders that Dr Wan Azizah’s announcement was heavily influenced by the DAP.

He said PKR must always remain the dominant party in the opposition pact and some were uneasy that Dr Wan Azizah, who is now Opposition Leader, may fail to maintain this stand now that party adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was behind bars.

One of the petition signatories, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said the Sept 20 supreme council meeting had supported Dr Wan Azizah’s efforts in having the roundtable discussion but had also decided that no announcement should be made.

“It was decided that any suggestions made at the roundtable meeting would be discussed again at the next supreme council meeting,” he said.