Team Rafizi says Julau controversy created by Team Azmin

Nabihah Hamid Nabihah Hamid Updated 5 years ago · Published on 9 Nov 2018 8:42PM · 2 Comments

PKR vice-president Johari Abdul says the sudden membership spike in the party's Julau division in Sarawak would not have been a problem if the division supports incumbent deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, November 9, 2018.

THE drastic increase in membership in Julau, Sarawak would not be an issue if the PKR branch was supportive of incumbent deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali, said a party leader aligned to his rival, Rafizi Ramli.

Vice-president Johari Abdul said Julau’s 2000% increase in membership was only being turned into an issue because Julau MP and candidate for the branch’s chief, Larry Sng, had openly declared support for Rafizi.

“It’s only an issue because in Julau, Larry is supporting Rafizi. If he supported Azmin, there wouldn’t be any noise,” Johari told The Malaysian Insight in response to calls by Azmin’s allies to suspend voting in Julau scheduled for tomorrow.

Sng is a prominent figure in Sarawak politics with a history in Barisan Nasional and was once the youngest assistant minister under former state chief minister Taib Mahmud.

Johari stressed that the PKR political bureau has approved the new membership list, and so has the central leadership council (MPP).

“As said by the political bureau, the new members are legitimate. I am also in the MPP. So what is there to dispute anymore?

PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli speaking with election workers when visiting a polling centre in Ampang on October 28. PKR's Julau branch chief Larry Sng has openly declared support for Rafizi. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, November 9, 2018.

Julau is one of 29 branches in Sarawak that will vote this weekend in the final phase of PKR elections, where two camps, under Azmin and Rafizi, are battling for key positions.

Azmin is defending his deputy president’s post against Rafizi.

Yesterday, PKR leaders aligned to Azmin had called for voting in Julau to be postponed pending the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s investigation into alleged fraud in the membership increase.

Before the closing of new membership applications in June, Julau had only 635 members, but this jumped to 13,617 after the close.

The party’s central election committee (JPP) has said there will be no postponement and voting will continue tomorrow as scheduled.

Johari said PKR in every state saw membership growth after Pakatan Harapan won in the May 9 general election.

“Now that we are in government, many people want to become members. PKR used to have 300,000 members, now almost 1 million,” said the Sg Petani MP.

PKR now has more than 800,000 members who are eligible to vote, of which 40% are new members as of June.

Incumbent deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali (left) greeting supporters in Batu Caves, Gombak in late October. His rivals are are accusing his team of playing up the membership spike of the party's Julau division in Sarawak. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, November 9, 2018.

Deputy Youth chief candidate, Raymond Ahuar, meanwhile, dismissed some of the fraud allegations.

Among the complaints about Julau’s membership registration was that 11,000 voters had been registered using 11 addresses.

Raymond, who is Sabah PKR Youth chief, said this complaint showed ignorance of how people lived in Sabah and Sarawak’s rural areas.

He said the use of the same address by many people was because indigenous communities lived in longhouses.

“These people don’t understand Sabah and Sarawak. Our addresses go by longhouse. Up to 200 people can live in one long house, so people just use the name of their longhouse village as an address.

“Why should this be disputed?”

Other complaints are that some Julau members never applied to join PKR but found their names on the membership list when they were still with other political parties, while some 400 names said to have double entries.

The MACC opened investigations into the membership registration after Sarawak PKR chief Vernon Kedit lodged a report alleging fraud in the process. – November 9, 2018.

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Comments

  • How can 13k people become members overnight? I dont understand the logic given all permissible possibilities to register the so called new members
    MACC should put an immediate halt to this and investigate. Whats the point of letting the elections to proceed and later if elements of fraud are identified, to them nullify the results!
    Start with a clean slate to prevent any controversies. PKR really showing their incapabilities in managing this fiasco. How can they be even trusted to manage the nation?

    Posted 5 years ago by TTs Take · Reply

  • Whether it is Rafizi or Azmin being supported is not the issues over here Johari !!!!!!!!!!!!! . With you making unintellegible remarks only affirmed that PKR is a %#&up party. If there is a rampant denial on the hard core cheating and fradulence even in such a small scale party elections why shud we even bother to trust PKR in leading the nations let alone a PM from PKR. Totally a dirt bag party of irresponsible characters who are freewheeling all the undesirable acts for self interest . Unbelievable !!!! when it is just only six months after the GE14 victory that that such unwaranted behaviour and total disregards for upholding the laws. Where is the good discipline and integrity that they have so zealously preached to the nations before May 9th elections. Can we allow such pariah class of politicians in our midst of a political environment in forming a New Malaysia. Was it a moment of fear or that Rafizi being awed by his own ability to articulate involuntarily and make a statement of truth to his spell bound audience in asking them never to trust the politicians that they have made into an MPs. Is he providing a future insight of what is going to be and did he himself walk the same talk that he is wonderfully preaching. Lets place PKR MPs under the microscope and tight scrutinity. The UmnoBn DNAs negative culture of self interest is so blatantly perpetuated by PKR . For a want of a stronger and better governance , PH coalition front should realise that some of the members in the component parties are not in sync to realise a New Malaysia. Sadly but honestly PKR party has lost the glitter and the visions of reformation are subdued and clouded slowly by the intense power hunger and monetary greed. The wealth of the country eventho' it is in debts of trillion but are still there and plenty more for them to resist plundering when they are in the corridor of power. It won't be long when corruption start creeping in and here we go again back to where we start in the beginging to get rid of a "cancerous disease" which are never ending in Malaysia. Let's nip it at the bud and we shal start with PKR.

    Posted 5 years ago by Lee Lee · Reply