Category: News

PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has stressed that the party is not spared from having members who have treacherous and corrupt attitudes.

As such, he called on all members to continue to uphold and defend the idealism of the party’s struggle, which rejects any element of corruption, abuse of power and treachery.

“We (need t0) strengthen the machinery (and) increase understanding. Are we the ‘perfect’ party? No… there are also treacherous leaders, there are those who when they have a position, start amassing wealth. In Keadilan (PKR), we see that there are also those who are corrupt.”

“(We) must return to polish the idealism of the party’s struggle… reject corruption, arrogance, abuse of power. Do not allow the emergence of leaders, state governments or figures who (will) build factions to stab us in the back like what we faced before,” he said today.

Anwar, who is also MP for Port Dickson, said this in his policy speech at the PKR 2020 Annual National Congress which was held entirely virtual, following the implementation of the Movement Control. Order (MCO) 3.0 which is still in force.

The National Congress, which was supposed to take place on June 6, was held today after being ordered to postponed by the National Security Council (MKN) and the Registrar of Societies (RoS) on June 4.

Anwar’s speech, followed by about 2,000 delegates, also touched on the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, saying that only by speeding up the vaccination process would Malaysia get out of the crisis fast.

– BERNAMA

The Central Leadership Council (MPP) of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has agreed not to fill some of the vacant posts at the central level until party elections are held.

PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said this was decided at an MPP meeting held on May 1, following several top positions such as deputy president, vice president and council members remaining vacant.

“With this, the running of the party at the central level will remain status quo without us filling the vacant positions after some of our old friends left the party,” he said in his welcome address at the party’s 2020 Annual National Congress today.

The posts were left vacant after former PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali and former vice-president Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin left the party last year, while Dr. A Xavier Jayakumar announced his resignation as PKR vice-president and as a member last March.

Saifuddin also announced that the 2021 Annual National Congress will be held simultaneously with the 2022 Congress next year.

He said the annual general meetings (AGM) for divisions will be held next year, but their respective annual reports will be submitted to the Registrar of Societies (RoS) this year.

Saifuddin also said that the Sungai Buloh division was awarded the division with the highest of new party registrations with some 6,259 new members joining the party between November 16 and April 29 this year.

Meanwhile, PKR chief organising secretary Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the party had 2,028 branches nationwide, including 259 new branches registered this year.

“We have decided to have on branch in polling districts for winnable seats targeted by the party,” he said in his welcome speech at the congress.

About 2,000 delegates joined the congress virtually through the Zoom application, starting at 8a.m.

– BERNAMA

The view expressed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah that Parliament should reconvene as soon as possible and that the government should accelerate the Covid-19 vaccination process is in line with the government’s ongoing efforts, said PAS Deputy President Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

Tuan Ibrahim said PAS also upholds His Majesty’s statement on the importance of having a stable and strong government to effectively deal with Covid-19 and revive the country’s economy, besides emphasising that all parties should reduce politicking so the government can focus on tackling the Covid-19 outbreak.

“His Majesty’s views on the parliamentary session are in line with the government’s commitment to hold a parliamentary session as stated by the Prime Minister.

“PAS is confident in the efforts and commitment of the federal government which has managed to provide over 200,000 Covid-19 vaccine injections consistently per day. It is a yardstick in achieving the target of vaccinating 80 per cent of the people by the end of this year,” he said in a statement today.

“The concern of His Majesty and the Malay Rulers should be viewed seriously by the people to ensure Malaysia is free from Covid-19,” he said.

The police have launched a probe into the report made against Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan for allegedly making ‘treasonous’ remark against Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said each report received by the police would definitely be investigated throughly, regardless of the status of the individuals involved.

Media had earlier reported that Amanah Youth chief Shazni Munir Mohd Ithnin had lodged a report at the Dang Wangi Police Station in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, demanding an investigation into Takiyuddin’s statement which he claimed had undermined the King’s view that the Parliament should be reconvened as soon as possible.

Takiyuddin was reported to have said that His Majesty’s view on the reconvening of Parliament did not contain any details on when it should be implemented.

“So, let the police look into the report first… they need to identify the actual offence,” Hamzah said.

On whether Takiyuddin would be called to give his statement, the minister said: “Anyone who is mentioned in a police report will be investigated. No double standard on that.”

– BERNAMA

PAS agreed with UMNO’s suggestion not to pressure the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government to hold the 15th General Election (GE15) anytime soon as the country should be focusing on fighting the. Covid-19 pandemic, which has been deemed a grave emergency.

Its secretary-general, Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, said the suggestion was appropriate and timely as the focus of attention of the state and federal governments should be on the efforts to fight the deadly coronavirus, which is still spreading in Malaysia and around the world.

“Political parties should also focus on efforts to help the people affected by the pandemic, not only in the aspect of health but also the economy,” he said in a statement here today.

He said this in response to the UMNO election director Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman’s statement yesterday that no parties including UMNO should pressure the government to hold the GE15 anytime soon as the country should be focusing on fighting Covid-19.

Takiyuddin, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law), said all political parties, as well as non-governmental organisations, should also give their cooperation to the government in handling and solving issues related to Covid-19, including issues that could raise tension and bring about a negative impact, as well as a waste time, energy and money.

“PAS is confident that the government will continue taking proactive measures after taking into consideration the opinions and suggestions from all quarters for the benefit of all Malaysians,” he said.

– BERNAMA

Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) today confirmed that its pro-tem chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will have an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara on Thursday.

“The official letter from the palace was received last week. However, the time for the audience has yet to be ascertained,” Pejuang Information chief Ulya Aqamah Husamudin told Bernama when contacted here today.

There have been reports of late that the King will be meeting the leaders of all political parties over what is speculated to be the emergency or the convening of parliament.

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) Information chief Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan and MCA secretary-general Datuk Chong Sin Woon, when asked the same question, said they had no information on the matter, while Gerakan president Datuk Dr Dominic Lau Hoe Chai and MIC president Tan Sri S. A. Vigneswaran, said they had not received any invitation from Istana Negara regarding an audience with Al-Sultan Abdullah.

UMNO deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, on the other hand, said he was not sure whether or not UMNO had received such an invitation.

“I heard so. But I have not been to the office… I’m not so sure whether UMNO has received such a letter or not,” he said.

On a different note, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told Bernama to refer the matter to Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan, who is a member of the opposition’s committee lobbying for an end to the state of emergency.

“Refer to Khairuddin… he might have more information than us,” he said referring to the media report Monday which quoted Khairuddin as saying that the King had agreed to grant an audience to all political party leaders, including from the opposition.

On February 9, the Prime Minister’s office announced the appointment of 19 members of the Special Independent Emergency Committee 2021 (SIEC), chaired by former Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria.

Other members include former Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Samsudin Osman, former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Norian Mai, former Chief of Defence Force Tan Sri Zulkifli Zainal Abidin, former Health director-general Prof Tan Sri Dr Mohamad Taha Arif, former Sabah state secretary Tan Sri Sukarti Wakiman and also Saifuddin Nasution.

The committee was set up under Section 2 of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021 and will advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the ongoing Emergency and when it should end.

The National Security Council and the Prime Minister’s Department will be secretariats for this committee.

– BERNAMA

The Barisan Nasional (BN) supreme council unanimously agreed to appoint Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir as BN secretary-general.

The appointment of the former Perak Menteri Besar was announced by BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in a statement after the BN supreme council general annual meeting was conducted online tonight.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also UMNO president, said the meeting aslo unanimously agreed to appoint Perlis Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azlan Man as the state’s BN coordinating committee chairman.

He added that the supreme council also decided to strengthen the party’s machinery in several states to help vaccination registration efforts, especially among the elderly, person with disabilities (PwD) and residents in rural areas.

“The supreme council also urged all parties to comply with the standard operating procedure (SOP) to curb the spread of Covid-19, which is worrisome at the moment,” he said.

Ahmad Zahid said that at the meeting, the annual report and financial report dated Dec 31, 202 were tabled.

The annual general meeting was attended by all four BN component parties, UMNO, MCA, MIC and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS).

Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan who was appointed BN secretary-general on January 5, tweeted that he had withdrew from the post in February and that is was approved by Ahmad Zahid.

“The positions of UMNO secretary-general and Muafakat Nasional (MN) joint secretary-general (which he currently occupies) are more than enough responsibilities,” he said.

– BERNAMA