By Brad Rantayy
MIRI, Nov 23: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim opened the Sarawak Keadilan Convention here this morning amid strong opposition from the party’s state leadership council.
Some 1,200 delegates attended the convention, which included party leaders such as Miri MP Dr Michael Teo Yu Keng, Julau MP Larry Sng, Hulu Rajang chief Abun Sui Anyit, Baram deputy chief Roland Enggan and organising chairman Datuk Sng Chee Hua.
Other guests included Sarawak Amanah Youth chief Mohamad Fadillah Sabali and political analyst Assoc Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi.
However, Sarawak PKR chairman Baru Bian, vice-chairman See Chee How and national vice-president Ali Biju were nowhere to be seen.
According to party sources, Baru had sent several representatives to act as observers at the convention.
Anwar arrived at the venue at around 10.48am.
Sarawak PKR leadership aligned with Baru had recently butted heads with the party’s top national leadership after its deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali’s invitation to officiate the PKR Youth National Convention slated for Dec 6 was rescinded.
It has been a tradition for the deputy president of the party to grace the National Youth Congress which will be held first before the main PKR Convention.
To protest, Baru who is Works Minister, as well as Selangau MP and Ba’Kelalan assemblyman, had threatened to cancel the Nov 23 PKR Sarawak Convention in Miri.
He said the state leadership council, which consisted of 46 members, saw 32 members reaching to a consensus to cancel the convention.
A statement on Nov 15, signed by Baru and seven others including Ali, said that unless democracy is returned to the party, the state convention would be cancelled.
However, PKR National Convention director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad refuted this, saying that the convention would go as planned.
Anwar was reported as saying on Friday (Nov 15) that the decision to not invite Azmin to officiate at the National Youth Congress would remain amid protests from Sarawak PKR leadership. — DayakDaily
