PKR polls: Wan Azizah insists there’s room for dissent despite Chegubard’s suspension

KAJANG: PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (pic) has insisted that there is room for dissent in the party, despite the suspension of one of its most outspoken members, Badrul Hisham Shaharin, popularly known as Chegubard.

“There is still freedom in the party and Chegubard has given his criticisms on how to improve the (electoral) system but some of what he said has tarnished the party’s image,” she said at the Kajang PKR service centre, Wednesday.

Chegubard, a fiery orator and the chairman of PKR-aligned movement Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM), has been suspended from the party with immediate effect following statements to the media which criticised the party’s election process.

His criticisms included an allegation that the election process was tainted and not transparent.

He also publicly claimed that the party’s election committee are agents of PKR deputy president frontrunner, Azmin Ali.

The ongoing PKR election was originally meant to run from Apr 26 to May 11 but was extended to the end of June after 27 divisions were suspended due to various discrepancies and irregularities in the voting process.

The are a total of 198 PKR divisions nationwide.

When asked whether the current party election was better than the previous election in 2010, Dr Wan Azizah admitted that there were flaws that needed to be improved.

“We have a lot of flaws and screws that can be tightened. Things may not be perfect. We have to find ways to actually improve it,” she said.

Amid calls for fresh elections to be conducted for all divisions, the PKR president noted that the party could not change the rules halfway.

She maintained that the “one person one vote” system was ideal but difficult to conduct due to various logistic issues.