PKR president defends controversial polls

Despite the barrage of criticism and bad press, PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the recently-concluded party elections was a “success”.

“Overall, this process is a celebration by party members. It is also empowering the members... everything went smoothly and of course there are some problems. We have taken measures to address problem.

“Overall, the exercise of this democratic process is a success,” she said in a press conference after delivering her policy speech at the party’s seventh national congress at Petaling Jaya this afternoon.

In the long and exhaustive party elections, several key figures have emerged casting doubts over the elections process to allege that there were irregularities, malpractice and fraud.

However, secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had different ideas about the supposed conflict that arose during the party polls process.

“We are not in denial but I like to back what I say with facts. Out of the 218 divisions that have conducted the elections, only nine divisions have problems and needed to be postponed.

“These don’t make even make up five percent of the total number of divisions so I won’t even call it a ‘damage’,” he said, adding that more than five members have been suspended after being found to have committed foul play.

Damage control roadshow

Revisiting his time as the organising secretary in the Umno Youth, he said that any time there was party elections, there would be tens of thousands of complaints.

“And yet, according to (Umno-owned daily) Utusan Malaysia, they (Umno) are the most stable political party in the country.

"We only received 289 complaints during the divisional polls and nine for the central leadership elections in our first ever direct elections process.

“Of course we will be picked on by the mainstream media, calling our party ‘damaged’,” said Saifuddin (left).

Still, he said there is a need for efforts to repair the party image for the upcoming general elections and several “key leaders” have been appointed to embarked on a nationwide roadshow to meet the grassroots.

Wan Azizah also played down the calls to make the 'Ketua Umum' (de facto leader) position official specifically for her husband Anwar Ibrahim.

"At this moment, there is no need for it but I still respect the suggestions of Wanita movement. He is already doing it, he is currently the de facto leader. He is our leader and also in Pakatan (Rakyat). So to formalise it is just an exercise.

"He does not need to change it, but we will still have to debate on the suggestion," she said.

No need to ‘rubbish’ ketuanan Melayu

In the Wanita's annual congress yesterday, chairperson Zuraida Kamaruddin had called for the position to be made official in the party structure and constitution as a recognition to Anwar, and that the position can never be contested.

The position was formed after delegates passed it as a resolution in the 2007 party congress when Anwar had to continue serving is five-year ban from politics upon his release from prison.

Wan Azizah also clarified why she had changed certain words from the text of her policy speech when she called for the ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy) concept be scrapped.

According to the text distributed to reporters, she said that ketuanan Melayu belonged in the 'rubbish bin'. But for Wan Azizah, the meaning carried was the same.

"They all carry the same meaning. It's all simply in the lingo, and I'm not the type to use coarse words," she said.