15 Sabah PKR Youth division chiefs claim not consulted
KOTA KINABALU: Fifteen Sabah PKR Youth division chiefs claim to have not been consulted in a recent pledge made in support of their state chairman.
This has prompted state party deputy youth chief, Remysta Taylor, to speak up against the movement’s chief Zaidi Jatil, saying he should have kept his mouth shut.
“We’ve learned that in politics, there are times when it’s better to keep our mouth shut,” he said in a joint statement with the 15 division youth chiefs.
He said this in response to a statement by Zaidi, who is the state PKR Youth chief, pledging the movement’s support for state party chairman Datuk Dr Sangkar Rasam who has been pressured to step down by 15 division chiefs.
State PKR has 26 divisions. Remysta insisted that as young leaders of PKR in Sabah, they must learn to be careful in making statements especially when the apparent power struggle in the party was still boiling.
Zaidi’s statement did not go well with his deputy who insisted that he should have kept quite and leave the matter to party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to resolve.
“Besides, he never consulted the rest of us in the youth movement before making the statement. So, this means he did not represent the views of the entire Sabah PKR Youth. It’s unfair to the 15 youth division chiefs if he claimed to have spoken on behalf of the movement,” he said.
He cautioned also that by taking sides in the ongoing power struggle can cause cracks within the party, especially when the issue has yet to be resolved.
“The problem with taking sides is that if things go wrong our party can be weakened. I believe our president knows the best way to deal with the power struggle. As for the rest of us, it’s wise to just keep our mouth shut and focus on our actions in strengthening the youth movement,” he said.
However, Remysta assured that despite the difference of opinion he has with Zaidi on the matter, both still maintain a good relationship.
He explained that he had to come out to speak on the matter to ensure that Sabah PKR youth members and supporters get the real picture of what has been going on.
“Sometimes it happens that our leaders go public with statements that do not paint the full or exact picture. Maybe they don’t mean any harm, but when people start interpreting differently that’s when things get complicated.
“There’ll always be power struggles in any political leadership. But we’re on the wings should understand our position and do our job with our mouth zipped. We risk making things worse when we blindly take sides,” he added.
Apart from Zaidi, Sabah PKR Women chief Noriha Yakub had also made similar statement in support of Sangkar and received criticism from 15 Women division chiefs who accused her of abusing her position.