Putrajaya, Jan 30 – A serious internal crisis in the opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has forced the by-election for the Kajang state seat, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Thursday.
He said that party’s attempt to resolve the crisis had placed a huge burden on the Kajang voters who were generally unhappy with the development.
Asked about PKR’s challenge for him to contest in the by-election, Najib said PKR should not relate the by-election to him.
“This is not my problem; this is their problem. I don’t have any problem. It is a problem in PKR; (it’s) their problem that precipitated this by-election. It is all their internal problem. Why should they deflect the problem and relate it to me?
“If we consider the reaction, much of it is negative rather than positive. That’s their problem. What I would like to say is don’t drag me (into it). This is your internal problem,” he said.
Najib spoke at a news conference after a meeting with representatives of about 40 non-governmental organisations representing Malays and Muslims at his office, in Putrajaya.
Lee Chin Cheh of the PKR announced his sudden resignation as the assemblyman for Kajang on Monday. The following day, Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim announced that PKR advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would contest in the by-election to be called for the seat.
The Election Commission (EC) said it would meet on Feb 5 to discuss the vacated Kajang seat.
Replying to a question, Najib said many views had been put forth by various quarters on what the Barisan Nasional (BN) should do with regard to the by-election.
However, he said, a decision would only be made at a meeting of the BN Supreme Council, which would be convened after the Chinese New Year (tomorrow and Feb 1) and the announcement by the EC (on Feb 5).
“Anyway, let the BN Supreme Council make the decision. I have yet to fix the date (for the meeting). I want to know the date of the nomination for the by-election,” he said.
On his meeting with the NGO representatives, Najib said he briefed them on the various current issues and they expressed their support for the government.
He said he explained issues such as the rising prices of goods and how the government was handling the matter, problems associated with the social media, the use of the word ‘Allah’ and so on.
“The objective is to reach a clearer understanding and determine the future direction of the country. Whatever it is, we cannot allow these issues to divide us.
“We can have our differences, but we should not be divided,” he said.
-Bernama
