GEORGE TOWN: Former PKR deputy youth chief Dr Afif Bahardin today said his call for the Penang PKR chief post to be filled quickly was not meant to upset the party leadership, but merely served as a reminder.
He said party secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail might have misunderstood his intentions in asking the party to immediately appoint a state chief.
At a press conference here today, Afif said “almost all” the state PKR chiefs had been appointed, except for Penang, leaving many matters unresolved.
He said issues such as political appointments in state government-linked companies and other bodies are stuck without any decision from the Penang PKR leadership.
Afif was asked to comment on Saifuddin’s remarks earlier today urging him to be patient and “respect the powers of the party president”.
Saifuddin also said Afif should focus on his job as an assemblyman and state executive councillor as these entail “a lot of work”.
To this, Afif said he was merely voicing his opinion for the sake of the state PKR members.
“Can’t I voice my opinion in PKR? We merely asked the party president to make a decision, that is all.
“Saifuddin might not understand this because he is busy in Putrajaya. We in Penang PKR need leadership. He must understand why we need an urgent decision.
“We have left this (appointing state chief) matter to the party president, Anwar Ibrahim.
“By right, a secretary-general should do his job by telling the president that Penang has no party chair. The secretary-general must do his work lah.”
Yesterday, Afif said Anwar must “make an urgent decision” to fill the void, as currently the party’s inputs on the Penang government’s administration could not be channelled to the central leadership and state party issues could not be addressed.
“If we cannot do this sooner, it would retard the efforts of PKR to fulfil our responsibility as a key partner in the ruling Pakatan Harapan government in Penang,” he said.
On Dec 17, Nurul Izzah, Anwar’s eldest daughter and MP for Permatang Pauh, quit all her posts in PKR, including as Penang PKR chief. - FMT
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