An aide to Aminuddin Harun has discounted critics of the Negeri Sembilan menteri besar as a disgruntled few acting out of personal grievances and personal gain.
This comes after four PKR assemblypersons and 11 PKR state leaders recently declared a loss of confidence in Aminuddin (above) as the party’s state chief.
Speaking to Malaysiakini today, the MB’s special functions officer, Romli Ishak, claimed that the unrest stemmed from those who failed to personally profit from Aminudin’s position of power.
“The history is there were a few people, maybe two to three people who expected to be appointed as the MB (in 2018) but (PKR president) Anwar Ibrahim chose Aminuddin because he was a two-term assemblyperson.
“He was the most senior at the time and his background was okay. That is why the party chose him [...]
“This is more about personal reasons. It is not about other things. This is all about positions, power and projects,” he explained.
For example, Romli pointed to the party’s Negeri Sembilan information chief Yusof Tapar and said he had repeatedly switched sides between Umno and PKR.
Yusof recently held a press conference where he and others criticised Aminuddin.
Sinar Harian also reported that Aminuddin, who leads Negeri Sembilan PKR, has sacked Yusof.
“These people, they are expecting something. When we became the government, (they expected) to be given something like how it was during the previous (BN) government.
“What is the point of reformasi then? A change of government is not just about taking over from Umno. No, we want to change the policies, approach, method and style of governance.
“If not, what differentiates us from Umno? If not, isn’t it better if we didn’t change at all?” he questioned.
Repeated overthrow attempts
Romli then directed Malaysiakini to a piece he wrote about the ongoing political saga that was published on website Media Rania.
It was entitled “Explanation - Answering wild allegations from a small group trying to bring down the Negeri Sembilan MB”.
In the piece, Romli claimed that the same group of people have repeatedly tried to overthrow Aminuddin ever since he was appointed in May 2018.
This included working with state opposition party Umno.
“However, their efforts have been blocked because the MB’s leadership has been strongly supported by Pakatan Harapan state leaders and a large proportion of branch (cabang) leaders.
“The issues are the same - positions, power, projects and related issues. None of this is related to issues about the rakyat, state development, reforming governance or strengthening the party grassroots.
“The excuse given (by the critics) during the press conference and the documents distributed were mere allegations and (about) personal grievances that do not involve the party’s struggle,” Romli contended.
Instead of attacking Aminuddin, he advised those involved to use their positions to strengthen PKR and state government instead.
He noted how their most recent attempt to overthrow the MB had failed once again.
“There was no motion of no-confidence against the MB. In fact, no state assemblyperson, not even from the opposition, voiced a loss of confidence in the MB.
“This clearly shows that this small group’s allegations and wild, baseless accusations were off tangent and revealed their true intentions,” Romli added.
Meanwhile, he confirmed that Aminuddin will attend tonight’s PKR Political Bureau meeting.
PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil previously said that the MB had been summoned to explain the political situation at the meeting.
Fate of state government?
The internal unrest surfaced last Sunday when 15 Negeri Sembilan PKR leaders issued a joint statement criticising Aminuddin’s leadership of the state chapter.
They initially called for a reshuffling of the state party line-up but later urged Anwar to intervene.
The MB has denied their allegations.
The four local assemblypersons involved are Ismail Ahmad (Labu), M Ravi (Sri Tanjung), Mohamad Rafie Ab Malek (Ampangan) and Michael Yek (Chuah).
Ismail and Rafie are state executive councillors while Ravi is the state legislative assembly’s deputy speaker.
Many have questioned the fate of the Negeri Sembilan government after the move made by the PKR grassroots.
Harapan has 20 assemblypersons in the 36-member state assembly.
They comprise 11 DAP, six PKR and three Amanah representatives. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.