Kita state chief: Cool heads should prevail

Party supremo Zaid Ibrahim should use all his experience to get the party back on track again after the sacking of three founding officials.

SUNGAI PETANI: Kita president Zaid Ibrahim has been urged to use his bitter experiences in Umno and PKR to overcome the crisis which threatens to engrip his young political party.

His Kedah state chairman Zamil Ibrahim said Zaid endured bitter experiences in Umno and PKR where he spoke out against cronism, nepotism, unfairness, the Internal Security Act (ISA) and corruption.

He paid a price for sticking to his principles in Umno and PKR, prefering to be a “Lone Ranger” instead of joining cliques.

Zaid also risked his political career by choosing to form a third voice (Kita), which consists of disgrunted PKR and Umno members instead of joining another mainstream party, Zamil said.

Now, he needs to revisit such experiences to mediate the crisis over the supposedly removal of three founding party officials: secretary Abdul Latif A Tambi, treasurer Rashid Azad Khan and central
committee member Muhammad Firdaus Christopher.

It is learnt that the fallout with Zaid was probably due to administrative and funding matters, including the management of the party’s social media networking sites and its official portal.

Kita was formed about nine months ago after Zaid, frustrated with the restraining cultures in PKR and Umno, had decided to transform Akim, a splinter PAS-party based in Kelantan, as a platform to champion his political values-based on community needs and human rights.

After renaming Akim as Kita and revamping the constitution, the party convinced Nibong Tebal MP Tan Tee Beng to join-up.

According to Zamil, the party supremo has yet to issue any official statement concerning the fate of the three leaders except for news reports.

“Since Kita is defined as a mosquito party, people can easily jump to conclusions and make disparaging remarks about us,” Zamil said.

The onus is on Zaid to put to rest the questions surrounding Kita, Zamil said, stressing that he is not taking sides with anyone.

“I am worried as a grassroots leader about the consequences of a spat. Kita has plans to contest in the next general election, so we should be fighting against Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional, not among ourselves. I hope cool heads would soon prevail.”

Avoid egoism

Zamil said Kita should be focusing on gaining the confidence of the public ahead of the impending national polls.

He said in a political organisation, there is bound to be a level of dissension due to the presence of a variety type of leaders, who all prescribe to their notion that they know what is best for others.

Zamil said Kita should avoid the egoism, which apparently is afflicting Umno and PKR and to an extend, most of the other mainstream parties, until they can no longer comprehend what the rakyat wants.

In another matter, Zamil said Pakatan has lost whatever political capital it had gained in the last three months due to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s brave move to repeal the repressive ISA law.

He said Pakatan has now lost the initiative if the general election is called soon, as Najib has answered all of his critics with the formation of a parliamentary sub-committee to improve the electoral system and now, the abolishment of ISA and the Emergency proclamations.

Zamil said the party welcomes the move but stressed that the two new legislations to replace ISA must emphasis on human rights, otherwise it would prove to be counter-productive to the aspirations of many.

He added that the next thing Najib must do was to ensure transparency and accountability in the corporate world, so government-linked companies and the private sector can compete globally instead of being mired in debts amid accusations of cronism and nepotism.