TWO PKR groups of grassroots members faced off outside party headquarters in Petaling Jaya today, as the leadership meets to decide on disciplinary action against vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin.

One group is calling for Zuraida, who is also housing and local government minister, to be expelled from the party, and are holding banners with her image and the words “Suatu Suara, Pecat Zuraida” (united in calling for Zuraida’s sacking).

The PKR central leadership committee meeting is currently under way at the headquarters, and is reportedly discussing calls from within the party to dismiss her over a speech she gave at a dinner last year in which she allegedly tarnished party president Anwar Ibrahim.

A group of Zuraida’s supporters, mostly from Ampang, where she is MP, carried banners in support of her.

Each group had about 50 people.

The confrontation later led to a brawl and rough exchange of words between some members of each group.

Party leaders who have arrived for the meeting are Anwar, PKR adviser Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

Zuraida was not seen entering the headquarters to attend the meeting.

Calls for her sacking began after she spoke at a dinner organised by deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali at the Renaissance Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on December 8, the last day of the annual PKR congress which she, Azmin and other members aligned to them had boycotted.

At the dinner, Zuraida said Anwar had tried to convince her that Azmin was in a viral sex video that emerged in June and which he had denied.

Zuraida also made remarks that questioned Anwar’s leadership, saying he was being wrongly influenced by certain people in making decisions.

She, along with Azmin, had not been attending party leadership meetings last year amid a rift between the deputy president’s faction and those loyal to Anwar.

A party member from the pro-Zuraida group, former Selangor PKR information deputy chief K. Gunasekaran said there were members from other states here to support Zuraida.

“She was voted in by members,” he said as to why Zuraida should not be sacked. – January 18, 2020.