Don T Write Off Potential Bersatu Defectors Lee Tells Pkr

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Dr Lee Boon Chye said former MCA vice-president Chua Jui Meng and ex-Umno youth leader Saifuddin Nasution Ismail are examples of crossover leaders who  strengthened PKR.PETALING JAYA: A former PKR MP says the party should keep an open mind about whether to accept defecting Bersatu members into its fold, saying many have in the past made significant contributions.
Dr Lee Boon Chye, who held the Gopeng parliamentary seat between 2008 and 2022, said over the years the diverse political backgrounds of former leaders of other parties have served to enrich PKR.
Lee said former MCA vice-president Chua Jui Meng joined PKR in 2009 and helped the party build its strength in Johor, while the party’s secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail was once an Umno youth leader.
“We are a party with an open door policy, which should remain open, but nobody should expect to hop on a helicopter and become a parachute candidate (during the election). It’s not encouraged,” Lee told FMT.
Lee, a former deputy health minister, said PKR must be willing to allow political leaders a second chance so long as they accept the party’s reform agenda.
On Tuesday, FMT cited a source as saying that hundreds of Bersatu grassroots members want to join PKR for a variety of reasons, including being unable to advance their political careers in the Malay-based party.
The source said the Bersatu members also wanted to help certain allies in PKR boost their party election campaigns, expected to be held sometime between the end of this year and early 2025.
On Wednesday, Utusan Malaysia quoted Saifuddin as saying that high-profile individuals from opposition parties, including current and former leaders, have submitted applications to join PKR.
Most recently, former Bersatu Supreme Council member Faiz Na’aman and former Dengkil assemblyman Adhif Syan Abdullah joined PKR.
Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim, however, urged PKR to exercise caution in accepting high-profile leaders defecting from other parties, saying the party must protect its clean image.
Hassan said it was important for the party to be both inclusive and cautious. He said PKR should only welcome leaders and members of other parties into its fold if they honestly embrace the principles and ambitions of the Pakatan Harapan component member.
PKR’s Seri Setia assemblyman Fahmi Ngah said the decision by ex-Bersatu leaders to join the party indicates confidence in the party’s leadership more than a year after the establishment of the unity government led by Anwar, the party’s president.
Fahmi, who is Selangor’s Islamic affairs and cultural innovation committee chairman, suggested that the Bersatu leaders’ decision to join PKR was motivated by their lack of confidence in the Muhyiddin Yassin-led party leadership.
“PKR is always open to those who enter politics to bring about reform and change.
“Once admitted, you must adhere to party discipline and PH’s principles,” said Fahmi. - FMT

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