Defeated PKR Youth chief candidate Badrul Hisham Shaharin today reiterated his loyalty to the party, saying that he will not join former PKR man Zaid Ibrahim's new Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (Kita) party.

In fact, Badrul said in a statement, contrary to popular belief, Zaid has never extended an invitation his way, nor was he offered money to jump ship.

"There are claims that I left the party after Zaid paid me a certain amount of money. This has been the same allegation thrown at me before, when it was said that I had received RM400,000 to support Zaid (in the race for PKR deputy president)," he said.

NONE Badrul, ( left ) widely known as Chegubard, was said to have paired up with Zaid, who was vied with Azmin Ali for party number two, with the backing of Badrul's opponent Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin.

Zaid subsequently pulled out of the race and quit PKR, citing widespread manipulation in the party's direct elections to the leadership.

Like Zaid, the PKR founding member, too, has been critical of the polling process and pressured the party secretariat to probe the many claims of irregularities.

These criticisms against the party, he said, had rubbed some people the wrong way, with some spreading rumours about his loyalty in order to needle him into losing his temper.

"These are  the people who do not want critical voices in PKR, they want (people like me) to do something out of the ordinary so that they can find an excuse to sack us.

"But my criticisms are only for the betterment of this party. I don't want our problems to continuously be swept under the carpet," Badrul said.

Getting restless with slow-mo probe

Earlier, in a leaked letter of complaint sent to party president Dr Wan Azizah Ismail, Badrul said he believed that de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim had intervened in the polls.

He had previously called for the party polls to be halted pending investigations into allegations of irregularities, but the secretariat  called for patience, saying the probes were under way.

"I accept the secretary-general's advice for me to be patient, but how long do I need to wait?

"I am confident that democracy and transparency within PKR are still alive, although barely, and to ensure that such values flourish in the party, members must be bold and demand that they be upheld," he said.

Badrul also congratulated Zaid for continuing to stay in politics as the head of Kita.