The ongoing rift within Kelantan PKR which has seen its top leaders facing revolts from party members is certainly a cause for concern for the party’s top leadership.

What PKR needs to do is simply sort out its internal factionalism, said Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs chief executive Wan Saiful Wan Jan.

“It is messy and it is embarrassing for the party that claims to be the direct product of the Reformasi (movement) to be divided into factions like this.

“Unless the factions in PKR grow up and behave in a more disciplined manner, people will get tired of them very quickly,” he told Malaysiakini.

But Wan Saiful believes that what that is happening within the Kelantan chapter in PKR is merely a “small symptom”.

The root cause, said Wan Saiful, is “Segambut versus Shah Alam”.

“Kelantan PKR is behaving that way because they reflect their national leadership,” added Wan Saiful.            

Segambut refers to PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim’s family’s residence, which has been dubbed “Istana Segambut”, while Shah Alam refers to the Selangor state legislative assembly, of which PKR deputy president Azmin Ali is the state’s menteri besar.

It is believed that Anwar’s family and their supporters do not necessarily see eye-to-eye with Azmin and his supporters on certain issues.

At a function in Machang, Kelantan, yesterday, Kelantan PKR’s embattled chief Ab Aziz Ab Kadir lashed out at a local party leader who attempted to hand a petition seeking his ouster to PKR Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin.

According to PKR elections director for Kota Bahru Ahmad Syauqey Abdul Ghani, Ab Aziz had called him gila (mad) after Ahmad Syauqey attempted to deliver the document.

It is understood that the petition from the Kelantan PKR members states that those who signed it had lost confidence in Ab Aziz's leadership.

Kelantan PKR, last week, had announced that it would retain its political appointments in the PAS-led state government. This was despite an earlier instruction by PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail for them to vacate the posts.

'A lack of confidence'

Meanwhile, political pundit Ahmad Atory Hussain is of the opinion that the situation in Kelantan stems from the lack of confidence in Anwar’s instructions given through Wan Azizah.

“When they were not confident about the instructions, they started to do what they liked,” he said.

Kelantan PKR members are also in two minds on whether to resign from their political appointments or otherwise.

“They look at PAS members in Selangor who do not vacate their positions so they think why should they do so, then?

“Some are in support of resigning while some are not in support of it. That is the current problem.”

As such, Atory believes that the situation in Kelantan PKR can only be resolved through the party’s presidential council meeting on the matter.

“They have to solve this problem. Party members should not be of a different view from their leader,” he added.