An extremely disgruntled committee member in the PKR Bayan Baru division is allegedly stirring up a storm to create problems in the coming fund raising dinner and annual general meeting (AGM).

The event is slated to take place tomorrow (Aug 8), nominations set for Sept 4 and the division's AGM planned for Sept 25.

H bayan baru division acting chief tan seng keat 190410 owever, there are complaints that both the events were organised by a ‘secret team' headed by the division's acting chairperson Tan Seng Keat ( left) , without prior consultation with the 25-member committee.

Penang PKR top leaders say the ‘dissatisfied' committee member was previously a division leader in a BN component party, who had jumped to PKR not long after the March 8 political Tsunami.

Batu Maung assemblyperson Abdul Malek Kassim said the member concerned was someone who wanted to create a ‘BN culture' in PKR.

"It's true, because PKR has never had any problems in its party election before, especially in Penang," he told Malaysiakini .

"Maybe it is the phenomena in power or a problem because we have the culture of BN creeping in," he said.

A non-issue

guan eng pc information freedom act 161208 abdul malik However, Abdul Malik ( right ), who is state PKR vice-chairperson, tried to water down the matter saying, "As far as I am concerned, it is not an issue."

Tan had reportedly organised the official dinner at the Sungai Nibong Pesta site, where PKR heavyweights like Anwar Ibrahim, Zaid Ibrahim and Chua Jui Meng are scheduled to speak, without consulting the divisional committee.

He had allegedly fixed the nomination date and venue for the next divisional election, again without consulting the committee.

Tan was also accused of usurping the role of the division's secretary by signing the invitation letters for the members to attend the much awaited AGM.

The venue chosen became controversial itself as it is the service centre of Pantai Jerejak assemblyperson Sim Tze Tzin, who is rumoured to be vying for the division's top post.

When contacted, Tan dismissed allegations that he did not consult the committee members before organising the two functions.

"If I did not go through the committee to organise the dinner, do you think I would be successful?" he asked.

"It's just one or two persons making trouble, who want too much protocol and want to be mentioned all the time. They probably feel sidelined," he said.

Less protocol, more results

"Yes, this is BN culture seeping into the party. They are not used to PKR culture. For us it is always less protocol and more result orientated," he added.

As for the AGM's invitation to members being signed by him, Tan said it was done because the division secretary was about to leave on a mission to Gaza, and will not be back until the end of the month.

He acknowledged that the invitation was invalid, as pointed out to him by PKR state secretary Abdul Halim Hussain, as he should have sent a notice instead of an invitation.

"We will be sending out another notice soon, though I am worried now because we really lack resources," said Tan.

Division members had received the invitation together with an invite to the Aug 8 dinner and a card giving information on Sim's service centre.

Tan said this was done to cut costs as it would be really expensive to send out 5,000 copies of invites to all members.

"Our division does not have the money. It is really a technical matter and involves the time factor as well," he added.

"Sim helped us out by not only offering a space for us to conduct the nomination and election; he also had a few workers to help us stamp and send out the invites," he pointed out.

'Open competition'

Tan also said Sim had every right to vie for the division's top post as it was open competition for any competent individuals who want to compete for the position.

NONE The nomination will now be held at the division's new centre in Bayan Baru, while the elections will be held at the Silver Jubilee home for the aged in Sungai Dua, Bayan Baru.

Meanwhile, Sim expressed disappointment over the controversy, saying he had offered his service centre to the division in good faith.

"It is out of my goodwill that I offered the place. I feel this is such a petty issue (to have been blown out of proportion)," he said.

He also acknowledged the existence of a problematic committee member in the division, reiterating that the person was creating problems because he had felt sidelined by the party.