PKR POLLS | Azmin Ali today denied making a subtle jab at rival Rafizi Ramli in his speech to women and youth party members.

Speaking at the opening of the PKR national congress in Shah Alam tonight, the deputy presidency contender said party leaders and candidates have been travelling across the country “from Sungai Petani to Johor Bahru, Gombak to Pandan and across the South China Sea to berkampung (set up camp) in Tawau, Pensiangan and Julau”.

The places mentioned are all Rafizi’s strongholds and had been expected to deliver votes for him.

Asked at a press conference afterwards about his intended message for mentioning those divisions, Azmin maintained he was simply stating facts.

“(What I said) was my message. I have been travelling all over the country, from North to South.

“Why are you so excited when I mention Julau? That was the fact, all of us were in Julau, Pensiangan and Tawau. I don't think that is the wrong message,” he answered.

Azmin, who is Gombak MP and economic affairs minister, directed attention to his call in his speech for members to support the party in view of the impending Sarawak state election.

“My message that followed that particular paragraph was to ensure we will continue with party members [...] in our preparation for the (Sarawak) state election. Don’t disconnect that two (paragraphs),” he added. 

Rafizi presently trails behind Azmin by 4,733 votes and is expected to lose in the deputy presidency race.

Julau PKR has come under scrutiny by the MACC after it was revealed that division’s members increased from 603 to 13,549 in one day.

The controversy continued when Rafizi showed that tablets used for electronic voting at the Julau voting centre had been hacked by an application called Prey, and demanded a re-election.

The party’s election committee (JPP) later affirmed that six tablets had been affected by the app but decided against a re-election, explaining that no data had been compromised despite the incident. 

'Julau is JPP’s call'

By not holding a re-election in Julau, Rafizi claimed that Azmin’s probable win in the entire deputy president race risked being delegitimised, especially if the win was by a small margin. 

When asked about this, Azmin said he preferred to allow the JPP to decide on election matters.

“I am not here to interfere in the process.

“We have mandated the JPP to conduct a free and fair election so I think we should give full support to the JPP to conduct the election,” he said.

He again referred to the JPP when asked about Rafizi’s claim that membership problems in Julau were caused by those from Azmin's faction. 

“As a democrat I accept any criticism but I leave it to the wisdom of the JPP to investigate all complaints from party members,” Azmin said.

The PKR national congress will conclude on Sunday with the announcement of the party’s new central leadership.