Fanatical youths flooding PKR, warns Tian Chua

KUALA LUMPUR: A senior PKR leader warned how the party is being "flooded" by a group of youths who are fanatic and only concerned about "lining their own pockets".

Speaking at the Shared Prosperity Vision (SPV) 2030 dinner at a hotel here on Sunday (Dec 8), PKR vice-president Tian Chua said that the youths did not understand the principles of "reformasi".

"This is not the PKR that we want. That's why tonight we gather here not to fight the president, but to put this party on the right track," he said to loud cheers from the thousands of PKR members at the dinner.

This was in contrast earlier, when he was booed at the PKR congress for cautioning members against being obsessed about Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim becoming the next prime minister.

He also said that PKR will be Umno 2.0 if its members are not allowed to criticise the party's direction or leaders.

He again criticised the quality of the delegates speaking at the PKR congress in Melaka which ended on Sunday, saying that most were apple polishers.

"If you enter debates just to praise the leader, then we have become Umno 2.0.

"If the party members are not adept in debating issues like the government's policies, then we have failed as members."

Tian Chua added that he did not join PKR's reformasi (reform) cause 20 years ago along with leaders such as PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali in order to lift anyone up to be prime minister.

"I didn't join reformasi to lift anyone as prime minister, but I joined in order to see the downfall of cruelty.

"That is reformasi, to defeat cruelty," he said.

Tian Chua also called upon pro-Azmin delegates attending the dinner to return to the reformasi track and principles that gave birth to the party two decades ago.

"We must return to the reformasi track that we walked on 20 years ago. This is the message that we must bring to the grassroots and also the leaders," he said.

Also present at the dinner were leaders aligned to Azmin such as PKR vice-presidents Zuraida Kamaruddin, Ali Biju, Wanita PKR chief Haniza Mohamed Talha, deputy youth chief Hilman Idham, Amirudin Shaari and Sivarasa Rasiah, among others.

Former PKR central committee member Zakaria Abdul Hamid, whose recent sacking made headlines because he was aligned to the pro-Azmin camp, also delivered a speech followed by Zuraida, who gave the winding-up speech.