PKR to amend constitution, more power to grassroots

PKR will seek to amend its constitution to empower grassroots in the decision-making process and provide more clout to members in Sabah and Sarawak.

A special national congress will be held in Shah Alam on Nov 24, during which the amendments will be tabled for debate.

At a press conference yesterday, PKR constitutional amendment committee head Tan Yee Kew (left) explained that the new provisions are necessary to develop the party in view of the new political landscape.

The amendments also seek to further fine tune some provisions and standardise the terminology used in the constitution.

The main feature is the delegation of powers to the state, branch, Youth Wing and Wanita Wing.

State leaders will be given the to decide on candidates for political appointments at the state and branch levels, unless the central leadership council decides otherwise.

Currently, the party's constitution dictates that such appointments must be decided by the central leadership with consultation from the state and branch leaders.

The proposed amendments also seek to provide the Youth and Wanita Wingsthe power to make or amend rules for the respective wing, subject to approval of the central leadership.

One vice-president from East Malaysia

Another amendment was to enhance the status of party members in Sabah and Sarawak.

"Among the three vice-presidents of PKR, one must be from Sabah or Sarawak. The Sabah and Sarawak PKR chairpersons will automatically become a member of the party political bureau.

This will be a special status that party leaders in the peninsula do not enjoy.

"The state leaders in Sabah and Sarawak will be given power to pick the candidates for positions in the two states, unless the central leadership decides otherwise," said Tan.

The third and last feature of the proposed amendments aims to increase efficiency in the party's management and administration system.

"We will add a new post in every level of the party, which will be that of the organising secretary. We do this because there has been a large increase in members and the purpose of the organising secretary is to enhance recruitment of members," Tan said.

Fourth round of amendments since 1999

She explained that the activities of the organising secretaries will be monitored by a chief organising secretary at the central and state leadership levels.

Another proposal is for the revamp of the disciplinary board to provide with the authority to conduct investigations without a report being lodged.

The board will also have a three-month time limit to resolve these cases.

Accompanying Tan during the press conference was PKR vice-president Tian Chua (right), who said the party wants the decentralise its power structure in order to empower the grassroots and encourage them to be more pro-active.

"We (also) want to give autonomy to Sabah and Sarawak so that they can be part of the party's leadership and we want upgrade the administration of the party to avoid confusions within the party and to ensure consistency," Tian Chua said.

This is the fourth time the party will be amending its constitution. Their previous amendments were made in 1999, 2003 and 2010.