PKR orders duo to quit resident council amid extortion allegations

Two PKR members implicated in a viral video for allegedly demanding “protection money” have been ordered to immediately resign from their positions in the Federal Territory Residents Representative Council.

Federal Territories PKR leadership council chairperson Azman Abidin said the directive followed a political bureau meeting yesterday, adding that the move is meant to facilitate the investigations by the police and party into the matter.

He said that PKR will not tolerate or shield members involved in extortion, protection money rackets, or abuse of power.

“Justice must start from within the party itself,” he said in a statement yesterday.

The two men had earlier denied the allegations, insisting that their visit to the massage parlour at Wisma Setapak on March 24 was part of “routine monitoring”.

Council deputy chairperson for Sub-Zone 2 in Wangsa Maju, R Vijeyndran, and council chairperson for Sub-Zone 6 in Wangsa Maju, G Paarthiydasan, have also filed police reports over a CCTV video clip of them at the business premises.

When contacted, Wangsa Maju district police chief Lazim Ismail said the case is being investigated under Section 385 of the Penal Code for putting persons in fear of injury to commit extortion and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for improper use of network facilities.

‘You represent the party’

Commenting further, Azman said that the political bureau has instructed the party’s federal territories disciplinary committee to investigate the issue.

The bureau also recommended that the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) continue to monitor massage parlours in Wangsa Maju more closely to prevent activities that violate regulations, laws, or premise licences.

“The political bureau reminds all PKR members and representatives that the position as people’s representatives is a public trust that must be held with full integrity.

“Any irregularities will be dealt with firmly without compromise,” he said.

On Wednesday, a Facebook account called “Kelab Penyokong Perikatan Nasional” uploaded an eight-minute and 34-second video, claiming that it depicted Wangsa Maju PKR division committee members soliciting payments from a massage parlour.

In the video, which appears to be a clip from a CCTV recording, the men are shown speaking about an offer related to DBKL’s inner workings. However, most of the audio is muffled and indistinct.

On Thursday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh said she has ordered a police report to be lodged over the video.

She affirmed that if the allegations were true, the men would be dismissed from their roles in the council, stressing that there is “no tolerance” for any form of “protection money” or “broker” practices.

DBKL separately denied any involvement with the men’s alleged activities, rejecting claims linking it with requests for protection money and abuse of power.

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