PKR POLLS | Azmin Ali, who is defending his position as PKR deputy president, advises younger leaders to emulate party veterans who have struggled for decades without having to rely on money politics.

Azmin was responding to a question regarding his challenger Rafizi Ramli's claim that money politics was being used to win votes in the PKR election.

"I would like to encourage party members, particularly those who want to offer their services – those young ones – to have wisdom and see how the party founders had struggled without having to rely on money and power.

"That is a struggle that must be defended," he told journalists at the Parliament building today.

Azmin said PKR was founded on the principle of struggling for the people and rejecting corruption, money politics and abuse of power.

"When we created the party 20 years ago, that was the foundation of our struggle and we did not use money or power to win in the general elections.

"These young leaders who want to offer their services must learn from old leaders who faced difficult times before they finally succeeded in convincing people," he said.

Asked if the allegations of money politics were discussed in the PKR political bureau, Azmin said it was raised in general terms, in the context of a clean and transparent party election.

"Any complaints will be investigated by the central election committee in a fair manner," he said.

Yesterday, Rafizi claimed that money politics was becoming a worrying trend in the PKR election.

"There is something that makes me go through sleepless nights. Next week (Oct 20), you all will compete at the division level in an environment never seen before... with money strewn all over the place.

"There will be quarters who will offer between RM100,000 and RM200,000 to the divisions. There are states where voters are given RM100 for a vote.

"I'm mentioning this early so it doesn't shock you when it happens," he had said.