azmin ali parliament pc 240609 There is no evidence whatsoever that a memorandum signed by 18 Sabah divisional chiefs against state chief Azmin Ali ( right ) "was ever sent to Kuala Lumpur".

There is also no evidence that 16 divisional chiefs subsequently met secretly on Oct 7 in Kota Kinabalu and deliberated on the unanswered memorandum at length and made several recommendations.

Tuaran division chief Ansari Abdullah, a former state chief who was removed after a party revolt against him, issued these two blanket denials in local papers yesterday.

State deputy chief Hamzah Amir echoed Ansari's comments. He also claimed "15 of the divisional chiefs who purportedly signed the memorandum have (since) disassociated themselves from the document".

"This issue was created to destabilise the state PKR leadership," said Hamzah who is also the Kalabakan division chief. If Hamzah's claim is true, this means only three divisional chiefs still stand by the memorandum.

dr jeffery gopari kitingan PKR vice-president and Keningau division chief Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan ( left ), who is in Kuching for a meeting together with senior PKR leader Zaid Ibrahim, dismissed Hamzah's claim.

He said support for the memorandum has since snowballed to 21 divisional chiefs, leaving Tuaran, Semporna and Kalabakan in the cold. Tawau has already long declared that it would remain neutral in the ongoing leadership tussle.

Ansari reiterated in the local press that "no such memorandum (sent to KL) and no such meeting between discontented divisional leaders ever took place".

In an e-mail to malaysiakini this morning, Ansari wrote: "Please refer to Latheefa Koya's press release . It confirms that there was no memo tabled (at the national politburo meeting in Kuala Lumpur last Tuesday).

"If there is (such a memo), kindly let me have sight of the same."

Ansari read out the press release over the telephone. It appears that the dispute revolves around the semantics of whether the memorandum, if its existence is accepted, was tabled or discussed at Tuesday's meet in KL.

Ansari had earlier told Malaysiakini in two telephone calls that the 18 divisional chiefs were "tricked" into signing the memorandum. He also claimed then that only 11 divisional chiefs attended the KK meeting on the memorandum while the others were either mere representatives of the divisional chiefs concerned or acting on their own accord.

He mentioned the divisional chiefs absent from the Oct 7 meet in KK as Kimanis, Kudat, Kota Marudu, Pensiangan and Penampang.

Jeffrey, when asked by the local press about the blanket denials, responded: "If he (Ansari) denies, then someone is lying."

"The PKR central leadership must listen to the voice of the majority. If the majority say 'no', then the answer is 'no'," said Jeffrey in remarks carried in the local press yesterday.

"We don't want to keep on playing politics. The divisional chiefs should have been consulted on the state leadership line-up. The state chief must listen to all of them and not just one or two persons only."

Breaking point

Late yesterday evening, a photostat copy of the "offending" memorandum dated Sept 20, 2009 turned up in Malaysiakini's mail box in Kota Kinabalu. Checks with various PKR divisional chiefs, including Jeffrey in Kuching, showed that the five-page document in Bahasa Malaysia was genuine.

The wordy memorandum, signed by a so-called Kumpulan 18 (Group 18), was addressed to PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. Briefly, it refers to the public insults heaped on the local Sabah PKR leadership since the appointment of Gombak MP and Bukit Antarabangsa state assemblyperson Azmin Ali as the state chief.

It also outlines what they had expected of Azmin's leadership and their subsequent disappointment with him. It stressed that a breaking point had been reached.

Among several resolutions in the memorandum, the 18 divisional chiefs called for the removal of Azmin as the state chief, and giving notice that they would otherwise be forced to declare that they no longer recognise him. His faults are listed as arrogance, unwillingness to listen, arbitrary decisions and having his own clique within the party.

The memorandum also alleges that Azmin's appointment as state chief was made (by de facto party leader Anwar Ibrahim) and not by the president (Wan Azizah) consulting and obtaining prior consent of the divisional chiefs in accordance with the provisions in the party constitution.

The memorandum also points out that Hamzah Amir was appointed one of the new deputy state chiefs, although he is a new member, while another deputy state chief, John Ghani, isn't even a divisional chief. Tawau divisional chief Kong Hong Ming, who maintains a studied neutrality in the party, is also another state deputy chief but his appointment is not in dispute.

Similarly, the memorandum questions the appointment of non-member Jeffrey Kitingan and Ronnie Klassen Ronnie Klassen ( far right, with Jeffrey ), a non-Sabahan, as the director of communications. The post is also not listed in the party constitution. At the same time, the party has appointed Jonathan Yassin as information chief. It is not known what the difference is between both these posts.

Non-member Yunof Maringking, the memorandum complains, has likewise been appointed to the state leadership council in an advisory capacity.

The memorandum expressed disappointment that five of the party's founding leaders in Sabah have since been sidelined by the state chapter. Among them are Jeffrey, Kota Kinabalu division chief Christina Liew, Kimanis division chief Awang Tangah, Putatan division chief Awang Ahmad Shah and senior party activist Daniel John Jambun.

'Power-crazy leaders'

Klassen, meanwhile, launched a blistering attack on the rebel divisional chiefs carried in his latest posting on his blog which is linked to the PKR website.

"There is a hidden hand masterminding this from the sidelines," he wrote.

"We do not want power-crazy leaders who are tainted and have nothing to show for themselves, other than creating disunity wherever they go, all because they have only one aim in life - to become number one.

"The pathetic old school politics advocated by power-crazy individuals spurting parochial sentiments must come to an end."

Klassen urged the central leadership to act firmly and remove "the cancer" before it affects the entire party. He reiterated that the drive within Sabah PKR to become number one, without mentioning anyone in particular, was "a form of addiction".

Senior PKR activist Richard Jayasuriya, president of the deregistered Parti Pasok (native), vows that he would urge Klassen to step up his cyber attacks against the rebel divisional chiefs.

"We must defend Azmin as the state chief," said Jayasuriya.

It is not known whether this means Klassen would be taking a break from his usual duties while he takes orders from Jayasuriya.

Jayasuriya also wants the party to take disciplinary action against Jeffrey and senior leader Zaid Ibrahim for announcing unilaterally that they are going on sabbatical leave.

He said the party can act against the two "errant' leaders on the ground that they lack commitment to its political struggle.

pkr egm bangi zaid ibrahim joins pkr event 130609 14 Zaid ( left )has since clarified that he was on leave for six months from the PKR national political bureau (NPB) and not from the party or Pakatan Rakyat. Jeffrey, likewise, has taken three months leave from the NBP.

He is one of two representatives from Malaysian Borneo, the other being lawyer and land rights activist Baru Bian from Sarawak.

Zaid said he sees the open displays and expression of discontent in PKR and other Pakatan component parties as arising from the absence of a "reward and punishment" system within the opposition alliance.

"This is unlike in Umno and BN where any rebellion is quickly put down by harsh punishments in the form of denying material benefits," said Zaid, without specifically mentioning the brewing crisis in Sabah over Azmin's controversial style of leadership.