There is no such thing as a lethal discord in the PKR as portrayed by the media, although there are “normal” disagreements within the party.

pkr weekly pc 120707 latheefa PKR information chief Latheefa Koya said in a press statement today that the disagreements are on such issues as the restructuring of the party leadership in Sabah.

These are normal in any party worthy of its name and there is nothing so fundamental or serious to warrant the type of press it generated, she noted.

The Oct 13 national political bureau meeting, she said, was “uneventful” as there was no power tussle between Zaid Ibrahim and Azmin Ali, as reported by the media.

She stressed that Azmin had not thrown any tantrum at the meeting but was merely reporting the situation in Sabah and Sarawak.

pkr egm bangi zaid ibrahim joins pkr event 130609 14 The only highlight of the meeting was Sarawak state assemblyperson Gabriel Adit’s impending resignation, and a plan to form another party.

On Zaid's six-month sabbatical , Latheefa said this is not an indication of trouble within the party and that he is still a valuable PKR leader.

“Zaid (is taking leave) merely to enable to him to concentrate fully on drafting the Pakatan Rakyat’s all important Common Policy Framework that will take the opposition coalition to the next level in challenging the BN as the government of the day,” she added.

A secret pact?

Latheefa's clarification had come at a time when there is a strong speculation of a bitter internal power struggle between Zaid and Azmin.

azmin ali parliament pc 240609 After announcing the he was taking a six-month break from PKR, Zaid had visited Sabah PKR leaders despite claiming that he was barred to do so by the party leadership.

The Sabah PKR leaders had earlier objected to Azmin being the state chief.

Azmin was quoted in media reports today as saying that Zaid was not stopped by anyone in the party from attending party events in Sabah.

He had urged Zaid to explain immediately to the party what he meant when he said party adviser Anwar Ibrahim had not given his consent to Zaid to visit the state.

Meanwhile responding on the power struggle in the party, former party leader KS Nallakaruppan claimed that it was an open secret that Anwar would side with Azmin at all times.

"He will surely listen to Azmin and that's why we are seeing Zaid being sidelined in the party.

nallakarupan miup 061007 nalla "The leaders close to Anwar are in fear that they will lose their power and position if Zaid is allowed to perform," he told Malaysiakini today.

Yesterday Nallakaruppan, once a close ally of Anwar, had told the media that there was a "secret" as to why Azmin is special to Anwar.

He however said he was not going to reveal the secret and challenged Anwar or his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to disclose the secret.

"Otherwise, I will," added the Malaysian Indian United Party president.

Azmin denies friction with Zaid

In a later development, Azmin denied claims of friction between him and Zaid, reported Bernama .

"Where is the friction? If you go over Zaid's statement, is there any link to me? No.

"This is the media's interpretation. It is their role to make it look like there are problems in the opposition as well as in the PKR," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

Azmin also said he respected Zaid's decision to rest and focus on strengthening cooperation among the opposition parties.

"Zaid has an important role in the PKR to help prepare a policy paper on the formation of Pakatan Rakyat.

"There is no conflict in the party, the working relationship among leaders is good and strong," he said.