PPBM Youth leader claims sacking over Sunday fracas

KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) Youth committee member Mohamad Taufik Abas claimed yesterday that he had been sacked from the party over the fracas at the ‘Nothing to Hide 2.0' forum in Shah Alam last Sunday.

He said he came to know of the sacking over Twitter but had yet to receive any official letter from the party to that effect, and regarded as unprofessional the action by PPBM Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman in sacking him over the social media.

His sacking was attributed to his raising at the forum a question on the Memali tragedy when PPBM chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was fielding questions.

"He (Syed Saddiq) talked of my sacking on Twitter. I only came to know of it through Twitter. Can you imagine a youth wing leader resorting to this, its too childish. By right, there should have been an official letter, I should have been called up at a closed-door meeting, not in this way,” he said at a press conference here.

He also said that during the fracas at the gathering, chairs were hurled at him and not PPBM chairman Dr Mahathir.

The commotion erupted as Dr Mahathir was replying to a question on the Memali tragedy. Several guests started throwing footwear, chairs, water bottles and flares.

Mohamad Taufik explained that a video clip of the incident showed that the chairs were hurled at him and not at Dr Mahathir who was on the stage.

"When I asked a question about the Memali incident, Tun replied. When I asked the second question, the chairs were thrown close to me and others.

"Then there were people claiming that this was designed to injure Tun (Dr Mahathir) when it is clear in the video clip that Tun was far away and was unhurt,” he said.

Mohamad Taufik said the organiser should take responsibility for the incident and not blame others.

"The programme was a failure. The organiser should know that in a programme such as a dialogue, there are bound to be provocative questions. As such, the organiser should ensure the security of all present,” he said.