Respect and obedience to party leaders is an obligation in an organisation but it does not mean it’s an act of pandering, said Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
The PKR secretary-general used an analogy to explain being obedient to a leader is like that of a congregational prayer led by an imam.
“Obedience to the leader is commendable.
“Muslims in (congregational) prayer have an imam we follow, once we do not follow the imam (during this type of prayer), our prayer is invalid. But if the imam makes a mistake, we can correct him in prayer, there is a way to do it.
"Similarly you may reprimand (party president) Anwar Ibrahim in meetings. Everyone in the central leadership council can witness how many times his views have been challenged," Saifuddin (above) said when delivering his closing speech at the 16th PKR National Congress in Shah Alam, today.
The Kulim Bandar Baharu MP said Anwar is a leader who can be criticised, but it must be done in a civilised way.
Rafizi wants end to ‘bodek’
Yesterday, new PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli said PKR members should stop bodek (pandering to) and being defensive of Anwar to the extent of making him untouchable.
Rafizi said Anwar has been losing his popularity and that the party should work towards addressing the problem of appealing to the public.
"If I were Anwar, I think we have to accept a factual finding. Because if we don't do anything, it will be translated into election results. The factual finding is that he is losing popularity.
"What we need to do is to appeal to the people and try to win again," he added.
‘Pantun’ of respect
PKR information chief Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin also expressed sympathy for the party president today.
During his closing speech, Shamsul recited two pantun (poetry) verses to remind PKR members to obey and respect the party's top leadership.
"Bila berbicara khemah besar,
jangan kita mudah tersasar,
pemimpin hebat jiwanya besar,
diserang digasak tetap sabar."
(When talking about the big tent,
let's not get lost easily,
a great leader has a big soul,
is attacked and pushed to remain patient.) - Mkini
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