PKR deputy president Azmin Ali urged Sarawak’s voters to reject corrupt “towkays” in the party that sought to influence the outcome of the PKR elections, which are in its final phase this weekend.

He called on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to nab those behind the registration of dubious members, saying the masterminds, and not only those involved in the registration, should be charged in court if there was proof of their cheating.

“I want MACC to not only investigate those involved (in the registration) but those who are behind it,” the economic affairs minister said at a dinner gathering with supporters in Kuching.

Azmin did not name names, but his remarks come as PKR’s Julau branch in Sarawak is under scrutiny for a drastic surge of more than 12,000 new members from just over 600 at the closing of applications earlier in June.

MACC is investigating the branch, where Julau MP Larry Sng, son of wealthy businessman Sng Chee Hwa, is contesting to be its branch head.

Azmin appealed to party members, who will cast their votes this weekend, to show that “Sarawak cannot be bought by ‘towkay-towkay’ (wealthy businessmen)”.

“We don’t have millions of ringgit. We don’t have private jets,” he said in an apparent reference to the private jet Chee Hwa had rented to fly PKR president-elect Anwar Ibrahim to Sarawak last month.

Azmin said what PKR members only had were the spirit and ideals of the party.

He said Sarawak PKR must not let these ‘towkays’ who had “only been in the party for a few months” seize power.

He called one unnamed “towkay” who had only been the party for a short while “power crazy”.

“He’s only been in the party for three months and now he’s power crazy.

“Let’s defend PKR and its ideals that we had fought for for 20 years. Don’t let it be destroyed by money politics,” he said to roars of approval from the audience that packed the multi-purpose youth centre at Jalan Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce.

Azmin, who is defending his post from party vice-president Rafizi Ramli, also told the crowd to “go to war” at the polls to “reject cronyism, nepotism, and corruption”.

Larry is among others being investigated by MACC over the surge in Julau’s membership and last week confirmed that the anti-graft officers had raided his office in Julau.

The Sng family is prominent in Sarawak politics for having to dodge accusations of money politics in their past political parties.

Chee Hwa was a key figure in the leadership tussles of the now deregistered Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak in 2003 and 2004, and in the failed attempt to boot out Parti Rakyat Sarawak president James Masing and install Larry as president in 2014.

Chee Hwa is also said to be a close associate of Anwar’s.

In the PKR elections, Larry has openly sided with Rafizi’s team.

Larry was also formerly Pelagus assemblyman and in 2004, became Sarawak’s youngest assistant minister at the age of 25 under then chief minister Taib Mahmud.

The dinner last night saw PKR Sarawak’s Wanita chief Nurhanim Mokshen saying in her speech that a vote for Rafizi was a vote for the Sngs and “a divided Sarawak PKR”.

She said Sng was welcomed as a party member but “he should not destroy the party with money politics”. – November 8, 2018.