AMPANG – Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari poured cold water on Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali’s insinuations that PKR is being led by a dictator, insisting that the reformist party is the most democratic political entity in Southeast Asia.
Commenting on the remark made by his former ally, the PKR vice-president said that unlike other parties, PKR grants every party member an equal right to vote for their top leadership.
This, he said, is evidence that the party does not abide by a dictatorship.
“Dictatorship doesn’t come from a democratic system, but from certain individuals who do not understand the system as a whole,” he told a press conference here today.
“Our party election system is neatly arranged in such a way that every member can vote for the president to vice-presidents.
“I don’t think any other party in Malaysia allows this. Umno has never done this. Bersatu doesn’t even have enough members. So, I don’t know what he (Azmin) is trying to say.”
Amirudin was commenting on Azmin’s statement that PKR is now being led by a dictator, going by the way the political outfit is silencing those who share differing views with the top leadership by dropping them from contesting in the election.
“You can’t even express your concerns and criticisms in the party,” the Bersatu supreme council member had told reporters when met in Kuala Langat last night.
“How is someone like this going to lead the country? If you can’t manage your own small party, how do you expect the public to have confidence in you to lead the country?” he said, in an apparent reference to PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Amirudin and Azmin are contesting the Gombak constituency in the 15th general election, the seat currently held by the latter.
MB not civil servant, not against law to contest in Parliament
On a separate matter, Amirudin put to rest any speculation concerning the legality of his candidacy for the parliamentary seat.
This is after certain quarters claimed that he was infringing the law, being a civil servant given his position as Selangor menteri besar, and thus being prohibited from taking part in politics, including standing for elections.
Amirudin however said that after engaging with legal experts, he had confirmed that menteri besar and chief ministers are members of administration and not civil servants.
“The questions of my position and (Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar) Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun’s were created by those naive and ignorant of the law.
“These are being circulated on WhatsApp. To those trying to secure a free victory, it won't happen. Let’s fight first. Even if you want to win uncontested, don’t resort to such tactics, it’s not good,” he said, without mentioning names.
Meanwhile, Amirudin expressed confidence that he would be able to retain Gombak for PKR, going by the feedback and sentiments of voters on the ground, six days into campaigning.
However, he acknowledged more work needs to be done to capture the support of new voters, following the implementation of Undi18 and automatic registration.
“But the trend is very good. We have organised multiple layers of campaign, from house to house, to ceramah, and of course through social media. So far, the response is good.
“I try not to overestimate, as I am always very conservative, but I think it’s good and we still have a good chance to retain Gombak.” – The Vibes, November 10, 2022
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