SIBU: The PKR leadership has been urged to look into the issue of membership at the party’s Julau branch and not continue to be plagued by the “denial syndrome”.
PKR vice-president candidate Zuraida Kamarudin said the party leadership also needs to be “brave enough” to make a decision regarding the sudden, steep incline in membership numbers at the branch, which she said was “questionable”.
She claimed that many complaints had been received about Julau as there were claims that the branch leadership did not follow the proper process in registering new members and doubts about some of these new members.
She said there were also seven Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) members who claimed that their names were somehow registered with PKR as members in Julau.
“If there were one or two cases (complaints), it would be acceptable as there mistakes could have been made. But there are complaints received from many people. This is something I would call a scandal, or even an organised syndicate.
“As far as I know, there is clear evidence shown. So the party leadership needs to make a decision. But if they don’t, and they decide that the party election in Julau needs to go on, then of course we are prepared to face it,” she said.
Zuraida, who is housing and local government minister, was met after a working visit to several longhouses in the Kanowit area.
She said there have been no indications that the election in Julau would be postponed.
“We have a week (till party elections in Sarawak on Nov 10)... we will see what the leadership’s decision is, whether to postpone or carry on.
“They have to be ready to face the consequences. I hope there will be a meeting at central level to discuss this issue.
“This has been brought up several times to the central party leadership but there has been no decision. I really hope (something is done) as this is for the good of the party... a wise and fair decision needs to be made,” she said.
The Julau PKR branch came into the spotlight when its membership rose from 603 to 13,000 in a single day on June 27.
It is understood that a report was lodged with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over the matter last week.
On Saturday, a team of MACC officers were said to have gone to Julau member of parliament Larry Sng’s service centre to seek documents to facilitate investigations into the matter.
Asked about the sentiment of PKR members in Sarawak, Zuraida said she was confident that the central areas of the state were strongly behind PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali in his race against his challenger, Rafizi Ramli.
