Sabah Wanita PKR chief urges Anwar to put a stop to mudslinging

– Bernama

KOTA KINABALU: PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should immediately issue a gag order to prevent party leaders from further mud-slinging, says Sabah Wanita PKR chief Rahimah Majid.

She said the ongoing mud-slinging matches, especially on the recent sex scandal, were detrimental to the party's integrity and image.

"If the ongoing mud-slinging match among leaders are not immediately curbed, it would further undermine the party's integrity and ultimately leads to its demise," she said in a statement here Wednesday (June 26).

Having said that, Rahimah added that she fully supported PKR vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin's statement that if she were party president, Santubong Youth chief, Haziq Abdullah Abdul Aziz, would have been sacked from the party.

Haziq, who confessed to being the man in the sex video and implicating PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali as the other man, was given a show-cause letter and given two weeks to respond.

Azmin, who is also Economic Affairs Minister, has dismissed the allegations against him as libel meant to destroy his political career.

Rahimah said she personally thought that it was only appropriate that Haziq be sacked from the party after he admitted to the indecent act in the viraled sex videos, which was against the law.

"If the party fails to act swiftly and resolutely against such disgusting act, it would inevitably send out the wrong message as if the party is protecting Haziq despite having publicly and shamelessly admitted to such an act," she said.

Rahimah, who is also Kudat PKR chief, thus rebuked PKR Wanita vice-chief Datin Faizah Ariffin for calling for disciplinary action against Zuraida over her remarks on the sex videos.

"By right, we in PKR should give our full and undivided support to Zuraida over her comments, instead of attacking her like what Faizah did in her emotional and hostile statement against Zuraida," she said.

She added that Faizah's statement smacked of a personal attack and did not reflect the true nature of PKR's struggle, which exemplifies "party unity" as its strength to serve and fight for the people.

While acknowledging that the consensus of the political bureau to follow due process was made collectively, Rahimah contended that it should not prevent someone from expressing their personal views on the matter.

She said as a mature society, they should be able to agree to disagree in matters such as this.

"There should be swift and tough action taken by the party against Haziq whose actions had severely tarnished the party's image and credibility," she added.

Rahimah said they were not questioning the party president's credibility, but wanted to protect the party from being ruined by internal squabbles induced by certain unscrupulous individuals with selfish agendas.

"I therefore call upon all PKR members to unite as one to fight all elements which are attempting to divide and undermine the party, in order to fortify the party which we love and built together in the last two decades," she said.