PETALING JAYA: If the irregularities in the PKR polls are not addressed, the party, like Umno, will lose credibility in the eyes of the rakyat, said University of Nottingham political analyst Zaharom Nain today.
Zaharom said PKR would lose their supporters who wanted a clean government to take over from the present one that was perceived to be rotten.
He said the Barisan Nasional’s “we know best and people must blindly trust us” mentality had become so widespread that even opposition parties also felt the same way.
He told FMT it was apparent how political parties did not want to come to terms with the fact that Malaysians today were “more intelligent, more discerning, less feudal, less obliging and less forgiving”.
He was commenting on a tweet by an unknown user who appeared to be a party member to PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.
The tweet had read: “Quite messy PKR elections, first time experience and not so pleasant”. Anwar’s reply: “Focus on Reformasi”.
However, Zaharom said as leader of the party, Anwar had no other way to react.
“But perhaps he could have reassured the supporters and the public that something will be done to overcome these irregularities,” said Zaharom.
As of yesterday, PKR polls in 27 divisions throughout the country had been suspended over alleged irregularities.
Zaharom urged the party’s disciplinary committee to conduct a probe and punish wrongdoers over the irregularities if they were proven to be true.
He said the “disgusting practice” was nothing new or peculiar to PKR.
“Money politics and fraud, have been, and will continue to be a key feature of Umno and BN politics.
“This corrupt behaviour, like a disease, has spread far and wide in so many aspects of Malaysian life,” he added.
Zaharom said it would be naïve for the rakyat to expect PKR to be angels and the party must get its act together.
“It will also be unfair to tar everyone in PKR with the same brush,” he said.
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