50 ex-Umno members to campaign for Anwar

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. -filepic

KUALA LUMPUR: A group of 50 Umno members who have joined PKR say they will go all out to campaign for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the Port Dickson parliamentary by-election.

Datin Sheha Mohd, the former Bukit Setiawangsa Puteri Umno chief, said this would be the first objective of those who had crossed over to PKR.

“It is people like us who work on the ground. We will assist the PKR election machinery in Port Dickson,” she said in an interview yesterday.

With her was husband Datuk Azril Mat Drus, the former Bukit Setiawangsa Umno branch information chief who led the crossover, citing disillusionment with Umno.

This was announced by Azril himself, who had handed over 100 new membership forms, consisting of 50 Umno members and another 50 regular Malaysians, to PKR’s Batu MP P. Prabakaran yesterday.

Azril said the group decided to join PKR due to the party’s moderate and multiracial principles, which he said was a far cry from Umno’s recent extreme views.

“There is no place for extremism in politics. We don’t want to be perceived as extremists. PKR is the way forward.

“It’s a party for everyone in Malaysia and that’s what we want to achieve,’’ Azril said.