KL PKR divisions to be told to toe Anwar's line?

By FMT Staff

KUALA LUMPUR: A last-minute invitation by PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim to all division leaders in Kuala Lumpur for a buka puasa do-cum-meeting at his house at Bukit Segambut today has set tongues wagging.
While many of the members and leaders of KL divisions are unaware of the agenda of the meeting, some believe that it has to do with the coming party elections in November.

“Anwar might be doing the campaigning on behalf of (vice-president) Azmin (Ali) for the deputy's post,” said one division leader who requested anonymity.

“He might want all of us to nominate Azmin for the post. This meeting could also be a way for Anwar to keep a check on Zaid (Ibrahim),” he added.

Zaid is the party's Federal Territory chief. When contacted, Zaid said he had other engagements in Johor and would not be able to attend the meeting at Anwar's house.

FMT learnt that all division leaders were informed of the meeting either late yesterday or early today.

The contest for the deputy's post is set to be a heated affair with many big wigs expected to go for it, including Azmin and Zaid.

Zaid in a meeting with all the divisions in Kuala Lumpur last week told them that they were free to nominate whoever they wanted for any posts.

“Anwar might want to see what sort of support Zaid has in Kuala Lumpur. We are aware that Anwar strongly favours Azmin for the post and he sees Zaid as a serious rival.

“Zaid has put the house in order in Kuala Lumpur since taking over two months ago and he stands a good chance of winning the nominations from KL.

“Anwar now wants to throw a spanner by hijacking the support from Zaid to Azmin,” said a party insider.

Interestingly, Zaid replaced Azmin as the FT chief in a reshuffle in June.

FMT also learnt that a whispering campaign against Zaid has been ongoing for some weeks now, ostensibly undertaken by his rivals to ensure he doesn't gain any grassroots support.

Last week at several meetings, Pakatan Rakyat members were told that Zaid would destroy PKR if he is elected the deputy.

Likewise, Azmin's supporters have also been claiming that Anwar would find it easy to work with Azmin as the deputy. SMSes are also being sent to party members to carry the same message.