RoS, court conviction reasons for Anwar's pullout from PKR polls - Dr Wan Azizah

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Datin Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail denied that there was any conspiracy to deprive interested candidates from vying for the presidency post during the upcoming party elections scheduled on Apr 25. Dr Wan Azizah said her husband, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's actions in offering his name earlier to contest for the party's number one position, only showed his determination to lead the party. She said Anwar’s decision to withdraw was due to the Registrar of Societies (RoS) constraints which disallowed him from contesting after being pronounced guilty by the Court of Appeal. "Not true...not true. It is just an allegation, not politics. The party’s higher leaders have decided that it is time for Anwar to lead the party but was disrupted by the court’s decision. "However, I believe the obstacles will continue to encourage Anwar to pursue with his agenda to change Malaysia," she said in a press conference at PKR headquarters today. Anwar faces five years of prison sentence after the Court of Appeal on March 7 pronounced the Permatang Pauh member of Parliament guilty of sodomising former personal aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan. Commenting on claims that PKR is dominated by her family members, Dr Wan Azizah said the party practices democratic system as the party top leaders were elected through elections. "We practice a democracy system, there’s no problem for others to contest, but our members gave us the opportunity. They had been accepting me as the president for 15 years," she said. Dr Wan Azizah is also disappointed with the actions of some people in the party who have questioned her capability to lead the party. "After 15 years as the party’s president, why is it that only now they question my ability," she asked. Dr Wan Azizah has been leading the PKR following the dismissal and arrest of her husband on 20 September 1998. On March 9, Dr Wan Azizah replaced her husband as the new candidate for the Kajang by-election following Anwar’s sentencing to five years in prison which left him unable to run in the by-election.

PKR President, Wan Azizah (centre)