Duo too old to retain positions.
The removal of PKR Youth wing’s permanent chairman and his deputy from their positions was purely due to them having exceeded the 35-year age limit and nothing more, said youth chief Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir.
He said this was in compliance with the party’s constitution requiring youth wing members to be under the age of 35.
“If you look at the party’s constitution, it does mention this,” Akmal told reporters in Parliament today.
He is confident that the party will not be deregistered following the sacking of the wing’s permanent chairman Muhamad Mizan Adli Mohd Nor and deputy Mohd Ramly Ahmad.
Earlier today, the duo was reported as saying they were sacked from their posts just days before the party’s national congress next week and claimed that doing so will result in the party being de-registered.
“The clauses also state that anyone holding a position in AMK must come from AMK members. So, what we are doing is actually upholding the rules set by the party,” Akmal said in response.
“When mistakes such as this happens, the AMK Leadership Council must make a decision for the sake of the wing and the party. We want to ensure that the AMK wing consists of AMK members and is managed by AMK members.”
He also claimed that it is time the wing practises organisational discipline, reflecting the main party’s rules and constitution.
The Youth chief also rejected claims by Mizan and Ramly that under Article 5.1 and 5.3, the permanent chairman seat is not limited to 35 years old.
The duo had denounced their removal from the positions, saying it is unofficial and made without any solid reason, and have demanded a detailed explanation for their dismissal.
“We were chosen by the grassroots and the decision should rightly be given to them, not to the rigid and narrow leadership that has veered from the original ideology of PKR,” they said in a joint statement.
A letter, dated Nov 27, signed by the PKR Youth national secretary Ahmad Syukri Che Ab Razak, stated that the party was terminating their positions on the basis that they were above the age of 35, and that they had received more votes than the number of delegates who showed up at last year’s PKR Youth National Convention.
This comes in the midst of a tussle between two factions in PKR, with one siding party president Anwar Ibrahim and the other his deputy, Mohamed Azmin Ali.
The rift has resulted in disputes, including who is to open the youth wing’s congress and the recent Sarawak PKR convention, which took place despite state chief Baru Bian maintaining it should be cancelled.
Mizan and Ramly said the election of the permanent chairman and permanent deputy chairman of the youth wing was to be made during the PKR youth congress, adding that their sacking went against the party’s constitution.
They said PKR’s constitution did not limit the age of the chairman to 35, nor did it state that delegates could only vote once. They blamed the central election committee for the messy election process.
Earlier, Mizan said he will file a complaint with the Registrar of Societies (RoS) and indicated that it may result in the ruling Pakatan Harapan party’s deregistration.
“As the permanent chairman, I was chosen by the AMK congress in 2018 and I could only be sacked by the congress itself.
“The congress is the highest institution in the party.
“I will bring up the matter to the RoS as I feel that this sacking is unfair,” he was quoted as saying.
Mizan claimed that he was not told of his dismissal earlier or called to defend himself.
He said he only found out about his sacking through a letter sent to his email account.
Mizan and Ramly are said to be in Azmin’s faction.