A group of Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (Kita) members, which claimed to represent the bulk of party members, has 'ousted' Zaid Ibrahim as party president in an emergency meeting this morning.

NONE Zamil Ibrahim, who was earlier sacked by Zaid, has been named new party 'chief' at the meeting, which was held in Kota Baru.

He told Malaysiakini that the new 'leadership' will meet with the Registrar of Societies (ROS) next week to establish its legitimacy within the party.

The one-year-old party, converted by Zaid from Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (Akim), has been embroiled in power tussle after he made a stunning decision to dissolve the party last month.

The decision prompted the party leadership of several states to revolt against Zaid , demanding him to step down and leave the party alone.

Party secretariat 'controlled' by Zaid

The splinter group, spearheaded by Zamil who was the Kedah state chief before he was sacked by Zaid, lodged a police report in Kota Baru yesterday, claiming that the party leaders had breached the party constitution.

He accused Zaid of deliberately hiding the news that the party headquarters had received a show-cause letter from ROS over his decision to dissolve the party, after he failed to bulldoze his decision through the party central executive committee.

Zamil claimed that his appointment, which was announced by the Kelantan state chief and son of the Akim founder, has the support from many state leaders.

"We will leave it to the ROS (to determine whether the meeting was in accordance with the party constitution)," he replied when asked about the legitimacy of the meeting and his appointment.

Zamil explained the rebel group had no choice but to call the emergency meeting because their demand for an extraordinary general meeting as stipulated in the party constitution was ignored by the central leadership, which he claimed was controlled by Zaid.

The 45-year-old businessman was a PKR Youth exco member and assistant to a PKR MP before he joined Kita.