THE winding up and closing of PKR’s congress could be a brief and empty affair following a walkout by deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali and his supporters in the leadership this afternoon.

“We will see if there (will be) a more responsible attitude towards rectifying the situation. But up until now, our agreement has been broken.

“So, what do you expect in the next 24 hours?” Azmin told reporters when asked if his group will attend the closing of the 14th PKR Congress at Malacca International Trade Centre tomorrow.

Azmin was explaining why his followers left the PKR congress after lunch today.

He said PKR president Anwar Ibrahim had broken an agreement between them not to attack each other during the congress. 

Azmin said Anwar had done so by invoking a character from Malay literature, Si Kitol, to refer to traitors.

Most annual meetings of political parties are closed with winding up speeches by wing leaders, vice presidents, deputy president and the president. 

But with tension between Azmin and Anwar’s factions flaring up again, the winding-up session tomorrow could be cut short if the deputy president and his supporters snub the meeting. 

Besides Azmin, other absentees would likely include Wanita chief Haniza Talha and vice presidents Zuraida Kamaruddin, Chua Tian Chang and Ali Biju.

Azmin said he had taken the initiative to meet Anwar on Wednesday, to bridge their rift.

“We expressed our concerns. I don’t think we would have done that, if we are traitors.

“We were with the party at its lowest point, and now that the party is strong, the new people are trying to chase us out. That is unfair to the leaders who have built the party for the past 20 years.

“How did we end up as traitors on the 20th anniversary of the party,” said Azmin. 

Ties have been strained between Azmin and Anwar since the party elections last year, when Anwar backed former Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli for the deputy president’s post. 

Despite losing, Rafizi was appointed a vice president under the powers of the president.

Azmin has not attend leadership council and political bureau meetings this year because of Rafizi’s appointment.

Meanwhile, Azmin denied that the rift with Anwar was over a tussle to be Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s successor.

“No, that’s not the issue. There is clarity there. We don’t have to talk about it all the time.

“When people voted us in, they wanted reform and that should be our focus,” said Azmin.

On whether he would take a break from PKR, Azmin said: “I don’t want to jump to conclusions.” –  December 7, 2019.