It could well be a show of solidarity for ex-PKR Youth chief Ezam Mohd Nor.

A week after Ezam resigned from the opposition party, half of the committee members in the Shah Alam PKR division that he had led were said to have also resigned yesterday.

It is learnt that at a one-hour meeting last night, 13 out of 26 committee members who held key posts in the division had handed in their resignation letters.

The majority of those who resigned were said to have cited personal reasons or their unhappiness over the way Ezam was treated in the party.

However, the mass resignations is not expected to seriously affect the running of the division as the PKR constitution states that (only) if two-third of a division committee members resign together, the party's supreme council is to call for a special meeting to appoint new office-bearers.

Ezam had relinquished his PKR Youth chief and Shah Alam division chief posts in February after a fallout with party vice-president Azmin Ali in the run-up to the party election.

Last Monday, he announced he had quit PKR - which he helped founded - in April over differences with his mentor Anwar Ibrahim, who is party de facto leader, and Azmin.

He had then called Anwar a 'weak dictator' who was controlled by Azmin, an allegation that was brushed aside by the duo.

'Ezam asks us to stay'

Contacted this afternoon, Shah Alam division chief Nasir Akhbar Khan confirmed he and half of the committee - including his deputy, a vice chief, secretary and youth chief - have resigned.

"We have personal reasons. Like me, I am very busy with work and can't give full commitment to the party.

"But I think generally our decision boils down to Ezam's case and that we are unhappy with how Ezam has been treated in the party," said Nasir, who described Ezam as his "close friend".

However, Nasir said he could not ascertain the exact number of those who had resigned as he was not present at the meeting last night due to a relative's funeral.

Division secretary Nazmi Rosli ( left ) said the morale in the division has been low since Ezam quit.

"The majority of those who resigned do not want to be in the leadership without Ezam. They also felt that leaders at the central level did not do anything to improve the 'low morale' situation in the division since he quit," said Nazmi.

He denied Ezam has exerted any pressure on their decision to resign.

"Ezam never asked us to resign. Instead, he asked us to stay put," he added.

Nazmi also denied there was an attempt to dissolve the division through the mass resignation.

"We are not there (at the meeting) to dissolve the division, we just informed the rest of our resignation. The power to dissolve a division lies with the Registrar of Societies," he said.

SD Johari Yasin ( right ), who had withdrawn from the PKR Youth contest in May after claiming that Anwar was meddling in the party poll, also resigned as the division's information chief and from the party.

Selangor chief: No comment

Johari, a close associate of Ezam, also argued he has lost faith in Anwar.

"When he was in prison, we fought till (ex-premier Dr) Mahathir (Mohamad) eventually stepped down but since he was released, we have not seen him being critical against Umno or (the Prime Minister) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

"Anwar claimed he has evidence of corruption against government ministers, but except for making criticisms, have you seen him expose any document so far?" asked the ex-PKR Youth secretary.

"If the party call those who quit traitors, I would like to respond by saying it is Anwar who has betrayed the members and this struggle," he said.

Meanwhile, Selangor PKR chief Dr Zainal Abidin Ahmad when contacted said he has not been informed on the resignation of the Shah Alam division committee members.

"I have no comment since I view this as a matter involving the central leadership and personal reasons," said Zainal.

Last Friday, Anwar described Ezam's criticisms as among others, the latter's "personal problem" with Azmin and that Ezam was "angry".

The PKR de facto leader also said Ezam had - until his departure from the party - been committed, made a lot of contributions and served PKR well.