PKR Kedah rep quits

By Athi Shankar - Free Malaysia Today

FULL REPORT KUALA LUMPUR: PKR's Bakar Arang (Kedah) assemblyman Tan Wei Shu has quit, landing another blow to the problem-plagued party.

However, he will remain as an independent assemblyman.

He blamed certain leaders in the party for his decision to leave the party. He claimed that these leaders – who he did not name – had used him for their own interests.

He also said that his decision had nothing to do with him being dropped from the Kedah state exco recently. He added that these leaders had spread lies about him in the media.

“I have been waiting for them to apologise to me in the press for spreading lies about me, saying that I’m incapable and not doing my work, when I have a proven a track record in serving the people for the past two years," he told reporters today.

Over the weeks, PKR has lost four MPs, three of whom resigned from the party, while another was sacked.

Tan's resignation comes just ahead of the Hulu Selangor by-election, and the issue is bound to be used by Barisan Nasional to pinpoint the internal turmoil in the Anwar Ibrahim-led party.

Tan, a state executive councillor, was dropped in the recent state exco reshuffle.

Kedah fell into the hands of Pakatan Rakyat in the 2008 general election. The coalition has 20 seats while Barisan Nasional has 15.

Attacks started weeks ago

PKR leaders told FMT that Tan's decision to quit the party was due to his unhappiness after being dropped as a state exco member.

They said that the Kedah menteri besar dropped Tan from the state exco as his performance was below par.

“He knows why he was dropped but he is not happy as the party agreed with the state government on the matter,” said a party leader, who added that the party had anticipated Tan's move.

Speaking to reporters in Parliament, PKR chief Anwar Ibrahim said he was not surprised by Tan's decision.

“He started attacking us a few weeks back and now he has picked the time to coincide with the Hulu Selangor by-election to leave,” he said.

He also said that he expected more disgruntled members to be enticed by Barisan Nasional to leave PKR in the coming days.

“But this will not effect our chance in Hulu Selangor,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin meanwhile said that the resignation was "very timely" as it signalled that the people had lost faith Pakatan Rakyat.

"The parliamentarians have left PKR and now the assemblymen. This shows that not only the people have lost confidence in them, but also the leaders," he said after announcing Barisan Nasional's candidate for the Hulu Selangor by-election.

State PKR leader: Don't blame me

Meanwhile in a related development, PKR’s Sungai Petani MP Johari Abdul has denied that he was responsible for the abrupt departure of the Bakar Arang state representative from the party.

The parliamentarian also denied he had conspired with state party leaders to oust Tan as Kedah state exco member. Tan was replaced as Kedah exco member by Sidam assemblyman Tan Joon Long @ Tan Chow Kang last month.

Johari said the political decision to drop Tan a month ago was “taken collectively by state and national leaders.”

“I was not responsible for the decision. I was even helpless to stop it because it was a collective leadership decision,” Johari, the Kedah PKR election director, told FMT.

Johari said this when asked about prevailing rumours that he conspired with certain state party leaders to oust Tan as a state exco member.

It is learnt that Tan and Johari had a ugly spat during the state PKR liaison committee meeting a fortnight ago.

Tan is said to have accused Johari of plotting to oust him from the state cabinet in the PAS-led Kedah government helmed by Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak.

Johari denied the charge and cited Tan's ‘poor performance’ as the main reason for his exit from the state administration.

Tan's departure from the party today leaves PKR with only three state representatives, which include S Manikumar (Bukit Selambau) and Lim Soo Nee (Kulim). All PKR assemblypersons are state executive councillors now.

The Bakar Arang representative will be the second state representative to leave Kedah PKR following Lunas state assemblyman Mohd Radzhi Salleh, who quit the party last August.

Another Kedah PKR representative, Kulim–Bandar Baharu parliamentarian Zulkifli Nordin also became an independent after being sacked by the party last month for misconduct.

Just before that, three MPs – Bayan Baru's Zahrain Mohd Hashim, Nibong Tebal's Tan Tee Beng and Bagan Serai's Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri - deserted PKR after citing a loss of confidence in the party leadership.