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Mahathir tells critics they are free to leave his party

KUALA LUMPUR — Amid signs of divisions in opposition Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday that members who are uncomfortable with the party’s leadership are free to leave. “If you are not happy with how things are done in PPBM, you are free to leave,” he told a news conference.

KUALA LUMPUR — Amid signs of divisions in opposition Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday that members who are uncomfortable with the party’s leadership are free to leave. “If you are not happy with how things are done in PPBM, you are free to leave,” he told a news conference.

Dr Mahathir, who is PPBM’s Chairman, said he was not going to force anyone to remain in the party. PPBM was formed after he resigned from ruling party the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) last year.

He also pointed out that division heads will not necessarily be fielded as candidates for the general election, which is expected to be called this year even though it is not due until mid-2018.

“Only candidates who are considered as winnable will be contesting in the next election,” said Dr Mahathir.

The former prime minister’s statement came after a founding member of the party, Kamarulzaman Habibur Rahman, announced his decision to leave PPBM last week.

Citing the loss of confidence in the leadership of the party as his main reason for leaving, Mr Kamarulzaman also said the party has deviated from its original cause.

He accused some members of jostling for power and said the party was not championing the welfare of the people, but was only aiming to look after its own interests. He also said some 820 party members nationwide would be following his footsteps in quitting PPBM.

Dr Mahathir’s party, whom former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin is president, has formally aligned itself with the opposition bloc, Pakatan Harapan.

Yesterday, Dr Mahathir reportedly admitted that there were several problems in relation to PPBM’s housekeeping rules. However, the problems were “slowly being resolved”, he was quoted as saying.

“There will be, of course, a number of people who will not be very happy. But if we accept their solution, other people will be unhappy also. So we are going to stay with our decision,” he said.

At the same news conference, Dr Mahathir also denied a news report saying that a division chief’s position in Johor was offered to an individual for RM250,000 (S$80,288).

“Yes, you have to pay, but the pay is only RM4 (membership fee) but since it is a poor party, we will not say no if you want to pay more,” he said. AGENCIES

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