‘Julau surge’ likely to favour Rafizi

A SURPRISE decision by the PKR election committee to allow some 13,000 new members in the Julau division in Sarawak to vote in the ongoing party polls will very likely tip the scales in favour of Mohd Rafizi Ramli in the contest for the No. 2 post.

The two-horse race for the deputy presidency, with results see-sawing between incumbent Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali and Mohd Rafizi, saw the former in the lead after balloting in Sabah.

However, the latest development in Sarawak does not bode well for Mohamed Azmin as the election enters the final lap, according to a report in Sin Chew Daily yesterday.

At the last count, Mohamed Azmin had garnered 58,949 votes, giving him a 3,321-vote lead over Mohd Rafizi’s 55,628 votes.

PKR election committee chairman Datuk Seri Rashid Din said the committee accepted all member lists submitted by party leaders, adding that “there is no reason to reject (any of them)”.

“As such, the 13,000 new members are legit, and eligible to vote (in the party polls),” he said.

On reports lodged by members with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over a sharp increase in membership in the Julau division, Rashid said it was a party matter, that should be dealt with in accordance with the party’s constitution.

The announcement by division chief Larry Sng a day before the start of PKR polls that the division’s membership had surged to 13,000 (from 603) has raised controversy.

It was speculated that should the new members be allowed to vote, the tide will turn against Mohamed Azmin as Sng, who is Julau MP and is defending his division chief post, has already declared his support for Mohd Rafizi.