Wee quits PKR – finally

KUALA LUMPUR: Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong, who has always been critical of the PKR leadership, has finally quit.

He said he was leaving the party because he was disappointed with the way the Selangor Government handled the recent sand mining scandal involving a state-owned company.

The scandal, he said, was the last straw for him and made it untenable for him to remain in PKR.

Speculation has been rife for months that Wee would quit PKR after Kulim-Bandar Baru MP Zulkifli Noordin was sacked and Bayan Baru MP Datuk Seri Mohd Zahrain Hashim, Nibong Tebal MP Tan Tee Beng and Bagan Serai MP Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri left the party earlier this year.

However, he had always denied that he would quit.

Wee said he was not joining another party and would remain as an Independent MP.

“I am making this statement with a very heavy heart. I have considered all these things for a very long time.

“I have seen enough and experienced enough ... I can no longer remain in the PKR and to be in this type of so-called Pakatan. I will remain as an Independent,” he told a press conference yesterday.

He said his decision to quit was final and was a “matter of principle”.

“I will not reconsider my decision even if (a request) came from the top rungs of the party leadership,” he said.

Wee was Federal Territory PKR deputy chairman and a supreme council member.

He joined PKR last year after being persuaded by party adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He refused to say if others would follow in his footstep but conceded that many were unhappy with the leadership.

Last Saturday, Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam issued an ultimatum to Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim to act against allegedly corrupt senior officials in state-owned sand mining company Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd.

Wee said he would continue to serve the people of Wangsa Maju and would not bow to calls for him to vacate his seat.

“I can no longer share their (PKR) aspirations. I cannot pretend that all is well and let’s go to Putrajaya first, then we change things later.

“Nepotism is clear in the party. The main problem is the little Napoleons or trendy leftists who are willing to do anything to serve their own interests,” he said.