KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 — PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail believes that party members who voluntarily raise the possibility of their own sacking must feel some guilt for not toeing the party line.

He was responding to PKR vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin who yesterday remarked that she and party deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali are bracing themselves for dismissal after attending a gathering at a hotel here last night that was separate from PKR’s official congress closing ceremony in Melaka.

The dinner gathering — ostensibly for the government’s Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 economic blueprint — was held in the same hotel that birthed PKR after Azmin and his supporters staged a walkout from the party congress is Melaka — signalling the resumption of open warfare between the ruling party’s two top leaders.

"Only those who have guilt in their hearts will talk about being sacked. Those who mentioned these things are most likely the ones who have broken party discipline.

"To me, that’s an admission of guilt,” Saifuddin, who is also domestic trade and consumer affairs minister, told reporters after officiating the launch of the World Bank Group Global Knowledge and Research Hub in Malaysia report on the cost of living at Aloft Hotel, Kuala Lumpur Sentral. 

PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali speaks during a news conference at AMES Hotel in Melaka December 7, 2019. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

Saifuddin declined comment on Zuraida’s other allegation, including her claim that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tried to convince her that Azmin was the person caught in a video sex clip and the PKR president was allegedly told by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to sack the PK deputy president.

Saifuddin said he did not wish to speculate on the identities of the people in the viral sex video, emphasising that the police said they have not been able to verify them.

He said rule-breakers have no place in PKR.

"As explained by Anwar yesterday, the mood of the congress showed that the members are firm in their stance that they will not accept any leaders that do not adhere to the organisations disciplinary rules.

"This includes attending the party’s meetings,” said Saifuddin.

"However Anwar is still ready to reconcile and anything that needs to be discussed must be done in our meetings.

"The main thing we need to focus on is to bring the party back to the righteous path,” he added.