PPBM Youth wants ‘one person, one vote’ model for party polls

PPBM Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman says PPBM, as a party that represents Malays, must also be able to cooperate with those from other races and religions.

PUTRAJAYA: PPBM Youth wants the party to implement the “one person, one vote system” as their election model, its chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said today.

However, Syed Saddiq said the mechanism needed to be fine-tuned and discussed further by the top party leadership.

“This is important because we want to ensure the grassroots members have a voice and role to play in driving the party.

“Also, we want to avoid the culture of money politics and emergence of warlords, where it would be easy to buy 200 delegates, as compared to the 300,000 members we have,” he said at a press conference today.

Yesterday, PPBM chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad said there was a suggestion for every member to be eligible to elect the leaders by way of “one member, one vote”.

“However, we find that the system is open to all kinds of problems. As such, we are open to a constitution that is more suitable for the party. I feel that the ‘one member, one vote’ system is a little difficult to implement,” he had said.

Vetting of former Umno leaders

The youth wing, Syed Saddiq said, has also proposed for a special committee to be set up to carry out strict vetting of former Umno leaders who wish to join PPBM.

He said the committee, to be chaired by either party president Muhyiddin Yassin or deputy president Mukhriz Mahathir, must have representation from the wings, especially PPBM Youth.

“It must have representation from the youth wing so that there will be a filtering process.

“It is the best forum to ensure strict vetting, including insisting on declaration of assets. An interim period must be set to ensure the person is not entering PPBM for wealth or position.

“PPBM Youth will accept its role to provide checks and balances for the party. This is something we feel very strongly about.”

Syed Saddiq said other issues debated included the new identity for PPBM going forward, which cannot be similar to Umno.

The focus should be on defending the rights of the Malays, especially those who are not capable, such as those in the bottom 40 (B40) low-income group.

“At the same time, we want to ensure people see PPBM as a party with trustworthy Malay leaders who are able to work closely with those from other races and religions.

“At the end of the day, PPBM, as a party that represents Malays, must also be able to cooperate with those from other races and religions.”

On the issue of increasing the age limit for PPBM Youth membership, Syed Saddiq said this matter was not raised during the debates and the age limit remains at 35. -FMT