SHAH ALAM – After a handful of members in the youth wing were denied entry into the congress, PKR Youth secretary Ahmad Syukri Razab said they were barred for failing to fulfil two requirements.
“PKR Youth divisions must hold an annual general meeting and submit a complete report to the wings’ centre as well as ensure that the delegate selection process is complete with at least eight candidates,” he told reporters at the Ideal Convention Centre here.
“If the division fails to uphold both requirements, then the members do not qualify to participate in the congress as delegates,” he said, adding that the regulation is a party norm and has been applied in past congresses.
He said the wing had listed on its website the 75 divisions and their delegates approved for the congress.
“They (delegates) could have checked the website first before they showed up here.”
Earlier, a small group of party members had gotten into an argument after they found that they were barred from the congress.
In a follow-up statement, Klang PKR Youth chief Mohamad Shahrul Adnan, who was one of those denied entry, cried foul over the incident, saying organisers are depriving party members of their right to become delegates and vote in the congress.
“Do not deny us our right as delegates because of weak planning management by the leaders of former PKR Youth divisions.”
In response, Syukri said the mandate to call for an annual general meeting falls on the newly elected party leaders, adding that the central party practices the same concept.
Besides that, he said observers were not allowed to enter the hall to ensure that there are enough seats for the delegates.
“A total of 675 delegates were approved to take part in the congress and the hall capacity is 400. If we allow observers to enter as well, there might not be enough seats for delegates,” he said, adding that the observer application forms have not been distributed. – The Vibes, July 15, 2022
