PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail should act in the interests of everyone in the party, instead of just siding with one faction, according to party youth deputy chief Hilman Idham.

Saifuddin recently rejected calls from Hilman and other youth wing members to reconvene the PKR Youth annual congress, after the previous meeting in December was marred by violence.

Hilman and the other complainants are loyal to party deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali, while Saifuddin is a well-known ally of president Anwar Ibrahim.

The rift between Anwar and Azmin has cascaded to all levels of the party, which resulted in massed brawls at the congress in Malacca, last month.

Senior leaders aligned to Azmin have also been subjected to party disciplinary action for criticising Anwar.

“As a secretary general, he should be proactive in understanding the situation and the demands laid down by us to the Registrar of Societies (RoS).

“He has a bigger role to play instead of being a spokesperson for a certain faction,” Hilman told The Malaysian Insight.

Hilman, who is also Azmin’s political secretary, said the demand for a fresh congress was due to the proxy wars within the party, adding that many party members could not be a part of the controversial congress last month.

“Hundreds of delegates and observers were prohibited from joining the congress were elected by the party. We do not represent any factions,” he said.

Hilman and 18 other youth wing leaders reported the incident to the RoS, asking it to investigate the congress and reconvene it.

The group said the violence disrupted the congress.

Hilman also demanded Saifuddin explain why, according to Hilman, rightful delegates and observers were prohibited from joining the congress.

He added they were restricted from entering the congress hall, while hundreds of non-members were inside.

The group also wants the RoS to investigate the sacking of seven of their peers from the committee last week.

PKR Youth chief Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, allied to Anwar, said on January 16 that the seven members were sacked from the committee for not responding to show cause letters and not attending meetings. – January 27, 2020.