PKR vice-president Mustaffa Kamil Ayub will continue with his campaign for the party's deputy presidency in the current party polls.

In his 48-hour ultimatum to the party’s central elections committee (CEC) that expired yesterday, he had called on them to halt the polls, claiming irregularities and malpractices.

NONE “But after I had met (CEC chairperson) Dr Molly Cheah yesterday and she made three commitments to me, so I’ve decided to make a compromise.

“I will continue to run, although under protest,” he said, stressing that he is not a “troublemaker”.

He added that Cheah and the CEC have agreed to strike a compromise with his demands outlined in the memorandum which are:

  • The CEC will be truly autonomous body;
  • A professional monitory panel will be set up to supervise the openness and integrity of the CEC in party elections; and,
  • Act on the suggestions and complaints made in the memorandum whether at the divisional or the supreme council level.

“Although I understand the grievances of the members and the grassroots who had wanted me to boycott or withdraw from the polls, for the party’s interests I will continue to contest,” he said, adding that he had received many messages, three-quarters of which ask him to stay on the party elections.

 On whether he thought that the CEC was not independent, Mustaffa said that the separation of roles between the CEC and the party secretariat is still unclear.

“There is that perception that the CEC is not autonomous and you can’t deny that their integrity and independence are under attack,” he said.

At a press conference in Petaling Jaya this morning, he gave examples of complaints , one being some CEC members seen wearing badges of certain candidates at the polling centres.

“Of course this will anger some of the members,” he said.

Previous complaints not taken seriously

He also claimed that the numerous complaints during the divisional elections which concluded last month were not taken seriously neither by the CEC nor the secretariat.

zaid ibrahim pc 091110 mustaffa kamil ayub When asked to comment on secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s statement that the HQ had only received six complaints during the elections for the supreme council posts, in contrast to Mustaffa’s ( left )  162, the latter said that his complaints were about the party elections in general.

“Although the secretariat said that there were about 170 complaints during the divisional elections, even there, not all of them were addressed properly.

“I personally know some candidates who had grievances about the supreme council elections this time around but did not bother to file an official complaint because their previous complaints were not entertained.

“I don’t want members to be disillusioned with our party. I just want to give them hope that justice can be served in this party. What if people say that if the party cannot protect the rights of the members, how are they going to protect the rights of all Malaysians?

“Like charity, justice must begin at home,” he said.

‘Zaid’s opinion is not mine’

Mustaffa also went to great pains today to reiterate his support for party de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and party president (and Anwar’s wife) Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Reading out from a prepared statement, he said that he wanted to set the record straight that he did not support the call by former PKR supreme council leader and Federal Territories chief Zaid Ibrahim for Anwar to step down.

NONE “I was only in that press conference with Zaid ( right ) because of our commonality on malpractices in the party elections. I left the room right before he started speaking, so I only found out what he said (about Anwar) when I received messages later at night.

“Of course I was surprised,” he said.

When asked if he agreed, he said: “That is (Zaid’s) opinion. I think we still need Anwar around. We can critique positively but it should be within allowable means.”

on whether  he foresees the support for Zaid being transferred to him now that it is a two-horse race for the deputy presidency between him and fellow vice-president Azmin Ali, Mustaffa agreed.

“Yes, I think his supporters will come to me. I thank him. I have members calling me and telling that they will now support me,” he chuckled.

Out of the 87 divisions that have cast their ballots so far, the tally is Azmin 6,467, Zaid 3,988 and Mustaffa 1,215 votes.

There are 121 more divisions that still have to vote.

VIDEO | 7.41 mins