Zaid goes on leave, crisis in PKR?

PKR leader and former minister Zaid Ibrahim today announced that he will be going on a six-month leave, strengthening rumours that all is not well in the opposition party.
The surprise announcement comes amid talk that the former Umno leader is locked in a squabble with PKR vice-president Azmin Ali.
With PKR deputy president Syed Husin Ali to bow out of the party soon, both Azmin and Zaid are seen to be potential candidates to fill the post.
There has been moves by Sabah PKR leaders to oust Azmin as the state party chief.
Malaysiakini has learnt that Zaid was to be dispatched to Sabah this weekend on a trouble-shooting mission under the guise of attending a hastily-arranged Aidil Fitri function.
Azmin, according to insider accounts, objected and claimed that Zaid could not be an honest broker.
In a statement released today, Zaid, who joined PKR in June, said he would not be attending the party's political bureau meetings.
The lawyer-turned-politician added that a letter to that effect has been submitted to the secretary-general of the party.
No sinister motive
"Lately, there have been reports of the political frictions of the PKR leadership with regards to Sabah and Sarawak and that I was in some way involved. I wish to reiterate that I am not at all involved in the leadership issue of PKR Sabah and Sarawak," he said in the statement.
"I have been invited to attend Hari Raya functions and gatherings by PKR leaders to meet the members, which I have accepted. Similarly, I have also been invited to meet some leaders of Sarawak in Kuching. I see no sinister motive in these invitations.
"I have no interest in the internal politics of PKR, nor of any of the other parties in Pakatan Rakyat. Neither do I aspire to assume a leadership role in PKR. I made this very clear to Anwar Ibrahim when I joined the party."
According to Zaid, he joined PKR to help put together a common policy platform for the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition, which he had been hard at work over the past few months.
"This common policy framework for the coalition of three parties, PKR, DAP and PAS respectively, are now in the final stages and I expect to submit the policy framework to the leadership of the respective parties next week," he added.
He expressed hope that the Pakatan Rakyat Convention in December 2009 will approved the proposed policy framework.
"We must move beyond the BN bashing and sloganeering stage. Only clearly defined policies and a united leadership of Pakatan Rakyat can convince Malaysians that we are a suitable choice for the rakyat."

tunku: this is what you get when you choose a corrupt party but zaid ibrahim too a corrupt leader. he was suspended before in Umno but when he joins pkr, he's clean like a piece of white cloth.i guess if kj joings pkr, he will be clean too. coming back to zaid's matter, there's no place in the top post for anyone in pkr except for anwar the moron's blue eyed boy,azmin the wife trader.everyone seems to have problem with him.may be zaid can join dap or pas after this.they will happily accept him especially dap.hope that during this leaves,zaid will devote himself more to God and stop "visiting" pubs and clubs.