Kelantan Pkr Chief Fends Off Grassroots Grumbling Claims Conspiracy

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Kelantan PKR chief Mohd Suparadi Mohd Noor is facing a no-confidence challenge mounted by members from his own division in Tanah Merah, who are unhappy with his Umno past
Suparadi, in turn, disputed the legality of the challenge and brushed it off
In a letter sighted by Malaysiakini, a “majority” of Tanah Merah PKR members were said to have lost confidence in Suparadi as their division chief
They mounted a similar no-confidence challenge against the division’s deputy chief Mohd Hanuzi Zaharin
The letter, which was sent and received by the Registrar of Societies (ROS), was signed by Tanah Merah PKR secretary Mohd Iswadi Ismail with the division's vice-chief Ali Lizon Isa as a witness
When contacted, Suparadi explained a vote of no-confidence can only be done at division meetings, not in a letter to the ROS
Furthermore, he claimed that Iswadi was not the division’s secretary anymore and thus had no locus standi to mount the challenge
“I am not worried because they have no locus standi
“This is more like a ‘psy-war’ (psychological war). There is someone behind them who is not happy with my appointment as the state chief,” he told Malaysiakini, declining to elaborate on whom
Suparadi said he will not step down but will instead focus on pulling new members into Kelantan PKR
Asked about Suparadi’s claim that he was not the division’s secretary anymore, Mohd Iswadi merely said: “It is up to him”
He explained that the primary reason for the members’ objection to Suparadi was his Umno past
“The reason is that the division chief is still an Umno member. He was suspended (from Umno) because of money politics,” he claimed, pointing to a Tanah Merah Umno letter which stated this
‘Money politics’The letter, which Malaysiakini also sighted, states that Suparadi was still an Umno member but had been “suspended due to the wrongdoing of money politics”
Supardi, who was once Kelantan Umno’s information chief, clarified that he had quit the party in April this year and was accepted into PKR on the 18th of that month
He speculated that his name could possibly still be in the Umno database, albeit erroneously
As for the “money politics” allegation, Suparadi maintained it had been a “conspiracy” against him when he was still in the BN component party
"It was a conspiracy against me and I was suspended from Umno back in 2013. I never received any letter from Umno about it," he said
Prior to the PKR elections, Suparadi was given a waiver signed by then-party president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to take part in the polls
PKR state chiefs are appointed by its president, namely Anwar Ibrahim
According to the party constitution, the president appoints the state PKR chief after consulting all the division leaders in the state.
It is also believed that PKR division leaders participate in a secret ballot to choose the state PKR leaders
However, since Anwar was the only one with access to the ballots, the results will likely stay unknown. Nor is the president obliged to accept the results of the vote, according to party rules. - Mkini

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