Zuraida tells PKR to ignore ‘mosquito’ groups after several call for her head

(MMO) – PKR vice president Zuraida Kamaruddin criticised outsiders including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for commenting on her party’s affairs.

She said the two main rival factions were calming down and should settle their dispute internally, and begin by ignoring outsiders who did not know the exact situation in PKR.

“Now is the cooling period for both sides, so if they are any ‘mosquito’ NGOs, they do what they do. If they bite and it itches, we just scratch it as it is irrelevant.

“Those irrelevant NGOs should not be involved in these matters as they do not know the real thing, so, for the sake of the nation, all these ‘half-boiled’ NGOs should not incite fights between the leaders,” she told reporters after launching the Taman Dagang Community Hub here today.

Zuraida, who is the housing and local government minister, was commenting on the tiff between the faction of PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim with another backing his deputy, Datuk Seri Azmin Ali.

The two groups clashed and marred PKR’s 20th anniversary celebration during the party’s national congress last week.

Yesterday, four groups seen as supporting Anwar urged PKR to sack Azmin, Zuraida and five other party leaders for insulting the PKR president.

The NGOs — Otai Reformasi 98, Jingga 13, Pertubuhan Solidariti Madani Malaysia (MaSSA) and Anak Reformasi — also presented a memorandum to Zara Zahari, the personal assistant of PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, to demand the expulsion of the seven leaders.

The seven were among those who attended last Sunday’s meeting at Renaissance Hotel Kuala Lumpur where Zuraida delivered a speech saying both she and Azmin are prepared to be sacked.

However, both Anwar and Zuraida have since urged PKR members to stop their public disputes as this was causing public dissatisfaction with the ruling party.

Today, Zuraida declined to comment when asked if Anwar should take a leave of absence pending investigations in a former staffer’s allegations of sexual misconduct.

“The case is under investigation (by the police), when the investigation concluded then we will discuss,” she said.

Earlier this year, Anwar said Azmin should resign if he was proven to be involved in a sex video scandal alleged by former Santubong PKR Youth chief Mohd Haziq Abdullah Abdul Aziz.