Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang's remark that he’ll "never join a party led by a sexual offender" has drawn sharp criticisms from his rival in PKR.

Tan, a lawyer based in Kedah, was then responding to former Umno deputy minister Saifuddin Abdullah’s entry into PKR yesterday, hitting at the party’s de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim ( photo ) who is serving a five-year sentence in Sungai Buloh prison for a sodomy conviction.

PKR Youth deputy chief Dr Afif Bahardin said Tan appears to be very much in support of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak although he is mired in a series of financial scandals involving 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion donations deposited into his private bank accounts.

“So tell us, how much has Gerakan Youth benefited from the RM2.6 billion donation which was reportedly banked into Najib’s private accounts before the 2013 national polls?” Afif asked.

He said people are still seeking answers to this question, and recalled that Penang Gerakan chief Teng Chang Yeow was unable to answer the same question during the party’s state delegates meeting in Penang last month.

Afif ( photo ) said Gerakan used to be a party with idealism and principles, when it joined the Alliance government in 1969.

However, its youth chief has tarnished the party’s image by acting like his “corrupted-minded” brothers in Umno, he added.

Afif said Tan should emulate the example of MCA Youth chief Chong Sin Woon who bravely stood up to Najib and criticised him over the handling of the 1MDB, and RM2.6 billion allegedly from an anonymous Arab donor.

“But what can you expect from TKL? Jangan menikus (don’t act like a rat, after stealing, runs away and hide),” Seberang Jaya assemblyperson said.

Afif urged Tan to retract and apologise for his defamatory remarks, failing which, PKR Youth will seek legal advice on whether to initiate court action against Tan.

Trumped-up charges and conspiracies

Afif also said if Tan read enough, the latter should be aware of the “trumped-up charges and conspiracies” surrounding Anwar’s trials.

He urged Tan to read Mark Trowell’s latest book ‘The Prosecution of Anwar Ibrahim - the Final Play’, where even an Aussie High Court ex-judge Michael Kirby said was “unusual in legal process”.

Trowell ( photo ) is a Queen’s Counsel and an expert in criminal law in Australia.

“As a national youth chief and particularly as a lawyer, TKL should be doing a lot of reading, especially reading up on facts, instead of just being an apparatus of Najib and Umno,” Afif, who is also Penang exco member, told Malaysiakini .

“With a youth chief like Tan, Gerakan will fail again to recapture Penang, which used to be the party’s stronghold.

“If Gerakan cannot stand alone and merely cling to Umno, it is better for the party to fold up, it has no more political struggle on its own,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, Afif welcomed Saifuddin's entry into PKR yesterday, saying “my prayers have been answered”.

He expressed hope that more reform-minded individuals with strong idealism and principles like Saifuddin will join PKR.

Afif said the former Temerloh MP’s views are more coherent with PKR’s struggles to bring about reform and political changes for a better Malaysia.

“We hope Saifuddin will share his view and experiences so that they can guide us in this journey. I believe our members would appreciate his contribution to the party,” he added.