The PKR election committee has ticked off the actions of both PKR vice-president Azmin Ali’s camp and Zaid Ibrahim, even before nominations for party elections kick off.

molly cheah 190505 mctc In the case of Azmin, committee chairperson Dr Molly Cheah criticised his supporters for using the party headquarters for campaign purposes.

“It was unfortunate that the press conference held to announce some MPs’ support for Azmin Ali was done in the party headquarters, without the headquarters management's knowledge,” Cheah said in a statement today.

NONE She was referring to the press conference led by Teluk Kemang MP Kamarul Baharin Abbas on Monday to announce the decision by 18 of the party’s MPs and two senators to endorse Azmin for deputy presidency.

As for Zaid, Cheah did not name him explicitly but made obvious references by urging members to address their grievances concerning party polls directly to the committee instead of going to the media.

“All complaints should be directed to the central elections committee at PKR headquarters instead of airing them in the media, including personal blogs,” she said.

NONE On Sept 6, Zaid ( left ) issued a statement in which he wondered aloud whether he would “end up” like Ghafar Baba in the 1993 Umno elections and be forced to withdraw from the deputy president’s race due to underhanded campaigning by rivals.

Zaid claims that he was being badmouthed and has alleged that a blogger was being paid RM20,000 to run him down.

'Report wrongdoings to us'

Cheah said that allegations of vote-buying and smear campaigns must be reported directly to the committee.

“The practice of money politics is a very serious offence and if proven, may lead to suspension from participating in the election process,” she said.

She reminded candidates to ensure that their campaigns do not “undermine the party image or cause disservice to the party”.

PKR will be conducting its party elections in November, which will see direct elections to the national leadership by 400,000 members. PKR is the first party to introduce this system.

pkr national congress 301108 azmin ali “This very fundamental reform within the party is unprecedented and challenging as all its members now have the opportunity and responsibility to exercise their individual rights to have their choice of leadership by voting in good and effective leaders,” said Cheah.

The rules for the party elections have been prepared and would be be made available in the party’s official website.

Nominations for the national leadership will kick off at the end of this month. Both Azmin ( right ) and Zaid are vying for the post of deputy presidency.

Azmin has yet to officially throw his hat into the ring.