No one's ganging up against you, Zaid: PKR veep

The is no conspiracy against deputy president hopeful Zaid Ibrahim, and PKR is no way blocking his reform agenda as claimed, said PKR vice-president Dr Lee Boon Chye.

Distributed through the official party channel, Lee’s cutting statement today indicates that the party’s patience with Zaid may well be running thin.  

The Pakatan Rakyat coordinator has been courting fire in his incessant tirades against the party following his announcement to contest for the number two post.

“Zaid ( right ) should reveal his so-called reform agenda and proceed to advocate them through the usual decision-making process rather than providing sound bites to the press,” he said.

Lee, who had publicly declared support for Zaid’s contender Azmin Ali, added that the PKR Federal Territories chief should also stop “playing the victim to gain sympathy at the expense of the party”.

Zaid has gone into the heated contest portraying himself as an underdog, claiming that a smear campaign was underway against him early into the game.

He also got many PKR leaders hot under the collar when he criticised incumbent deputy president Syed Husin Ali, president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and de facto chief Anwar Ibrahim.

Such attacks were made via the media, including in an exclusive interview with Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia , which has apparently touched a raw nerve among the party faithful.

Commenting on this, Lee ( left ) said that the decision to give an interview to Utusan had the party “bewildered”, as Zaid had described as a “Gestapo paper”.

“Has he forgotten that he was once subject of Utusan’s dirty smear campaign during the Hulu Selangor by-election?

“Has he also forgotten Utusan’s relentless vicious attacks against Pakatan Rakyat which cause Pakatan to ban the newspaper?” asked Lee, who confessed to be perplexed by Zaid’s behaviour.  

Wan Azizah: No move to sack Zaid

While Zaid has lodged a police report on allegations that bloggers were offered payment to slander him, no such complaint was made to the PKR elections committee, decried Lee.

Instead, Lee said Zaid had resorted to “complaining publicly (and) making sweeping statements of underhanded tactics and conspiracy”.

The former Kota Bharu parliamentarian’s spate of outbursts had sparked a rumour that he would be suspended or sacked from the party.

This was however refuted by Wan Azizah today, who dismissed the claims as “slander and false information”.

“The political bureau stresses that there have been no instruction, complaints nor decisions to do with disciplining Zaid,” she said in a statement.

With the final 37 divisions to meet on this weekend, Azmin has bagged 90 nominations against Zaid's 33.