Youth wings in Pakatan Rakyat have joined the inter-coalition spat, with a PKR Youth leader taking on his PAS counterpart, over the latter’s remark on PAS’ exit from Pakatan.

Responding to PAS Youth vice chief Khairil Nizam Khiruddin, PKR Youth vice chief Fahmi Fadzil said that youth leaders should promote cooperation within Pakatan, instead of publicly mulling their party's departure.

"I urge Pakatan Youth to organise more programmes and provide a platform for us to strengthen our relationship and to avoid misunderstanding which may be used by BN/Umno against us," he said in a statement.

"We must remember that 52 percent of Malaysian voters have placed their trust in Pakatan not simply to replace BN-Umno in power, but to spark a new political culture for a better Malaysia."

Khairil Nizam Khiruddin (left) reportedly told Sinar Harian that "when it is time for PAS to leave Pakatan, we (PAS) will."

PAS had clashed with PKR and DAP when its president Abdul Hadi Awang rejected PKR and DAP’s prefered candidate, PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

The open conflict led the Selangor ruler to appoint PKR deputy president Azmin Ali to replace Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as Selangor menteri besar.

Yesterday, PKR Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin urged Hadi to apologise to Wan Azizah for saying she is incompetent.

She also urged the PAS quota on the Selangor executive council to be reduced, claiming that PAS did not support PKR during the MB crisis.

Mend ties

Meanwhile, PKR Youth deputy chief Dr Afif Bahardin said the matter is for PAS to discuss among their members, adding that the remark was perhaps Khairil Nizam's personal opinion.

The Penang PKR Youth chief, who is closely aligned to Azmin, is trying to mend ties with PAS.

"Many PAS leaders are still committed to Pakatan. Even their president said in the recent muktamar in Johor that the party is committed to Pakatan," said the Penang exco member.

However, Afif (right) reminded his comrades that the youth wings prefer Pakatan to stay intact to face BN in the 14th general elections, which can be called as early as 2016.

"It is still the best formula to fight our real enemy, who is BN and Umno," he said.

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