Days after Kita president Zaid Ibrahim announced his intention to dissolve his barely one year old party, several states were up in arms over the decision.

However, in an interview with Malaysiakini at his residence in Petaling Jaya on Friday, Zaid appeared to offer a compromise for the party to choose between dissolution and weeding out problematic members.

NONE Come Feb 25, Zaid ( right ) said he will present the options at the party's central executive committee (CEC) meeting.

He added that if the CEC refuses to sack the problematic members and if it calls for a special representative conference (SRC), he is outvoted on dissolving the party,  he will quit Kita. "I will leave of course, because I only have one vote," he said.

Asked if he had backtracked by offering an alternative, Zaid replied: "In this country, everything is U-turn, but this is not a U-turn, it is just an idea."

"Look, I cannot close the party; it has to go through a process... It's not easy, you need three-quarters of the members to agree, just because I say let's close doesn't mean it will be closed, it depends on the members. Everybody has one vote, including me," he said.

Stating that the party was "not beyond repair", Zaid said some members felt Kita could continue on its original cause without having to dissolve if problematic members were removed.

 

Ousting Zaid

Alternatively, if there are members who are vehemently opposed to these options, he adds, they can also requisition for a special representative conference to oust him, but this would require at least 51 percent of the branch representatives submitting written requests.

However, Zaid said he was confident the 26-member CEC would favour him and that his opponents would not have the sufficient quorum to requisition for a SRC.

The main contention, he said, was some of its members have intentions to contest in the next general election, something which the party's CEC had decided against.

"This party is not for sale or hire, it is not for people to use us as mercenaries," he said, adding that he will not allow the party to be spoilers in the general election.

"Of course some people say what is the point of having a political party if you don't want to contest. I say maybe later but not now, because we don't have enough members who are strong candidates."

Monster created?

Asked if he had created a monster with Kita, Zaid insisted that he was still in control of the party.

"If these people (problematic members) like to talk to TV3, that means they don't have support. If (sacked former PAS Selangor commissioner) Hasan Ali had real support in PAS, do you think he will rush to TV3 and Umno?"

"If you have a disagreement with the party, you want to express your views, there are certain channels for you but if you are being paid by people to do certain damage, you cannot keep this type of people," he said, but declined to elaborate.

NONE Immediately after Zaid announced his decision to dissolve Kita, the party's Kedah chief Zamli Ibrahim and Penang chief Tan Tee Beng ( right ) launched broadsides against him, which resulted in their sacking.

Asked what his political direction would be if he was forced out of Kita, Zaid replied: "I will be an individual."

"As much as they (detractors) like to hate me, they know I still have influence and I believe that I can still contribute, my views are still important."

However if all goes well, he said, Kita will be an opposition-friendly party and may help them to campaign if asked.