PKR rally ends with protest by party members

PKR rally ends with protest by party members

Anwar reading the memorandum that was handed to him. — Pictures by Choo Choy May

By Adib Zalkapli

KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 — It was supposed to be a public rally for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to present his case before party loyalists as he faces his second sodomy trial in a decade.

Former minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, vice-presidents Azmin Ali and Sivarasa Rasiah were there to hear him address some 2,000 party supporters who turned up at a local council hall in Ampang near here.

But the rally last night ended with a small protest by dozens of people who claimed to be from PKR Youth.

As soon as Anwar ended his speech, the protesters unfurled a banner that read "We want change" to protest the appointment of three individuals to the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council.

Copies of a memorandum on the matter, addressed to Anwar, were also distributed to the public.

The group claimed that the state government had ignored the Ampang PKR’s recommendations in the appointment of Ampang Jaya councillors.

“Since last year we have raised objections to the state leadership but they were not taken into consideration. We don’t have a choice but to inform Datuk Seri directly,” read the memorandum.

The group was later persuaded by party security personnel to take down the banner and end the protest.

An unidentified PKR Youth member, who was with the group, later agreed to remove the banner but they refused to disperse, saying that they just wanted to hand over a memorandum to Anwar.

The protesting PKR members with their banner.

When the Opposition Leader walked to his car, party volunteers and security guards attempted to block the protestors from meeting Anwar.

He then signalled his willingness to accept the memorandum and as soon as it was handed over, the group repeatedly shouted "Reformasi" and "Hidup Anwar."

The Malaysian Insider understands that the group of protestors represented a senior Ampang PKR member who was unhappy because he was not appointed to the Ampang Jaya council.

Since last year’s general election where PKR won the highest number of parliamentary seats among the opposition parties, the party has been facing problems handling members asking to be rewarded with government positions and government contracts.

Last year’s PKR Youth annual congress was dominated by demands for government rewards and contracts.

kzso - demands for government rewards and contracts? sounds familiar...