PKR Supporters Say No To New Candidate For Balik Pulau Seat

A group of supporters and members of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Thursday protested against the decision of de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in announcing a new face to contest the Balik Pulau parliamentary seat.

They organised a peaceful gathering in Jalan Baru here in support of incumbent Mohd Yusmadi Mohd Yusoff to defend his seat. Anwar had named Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik, 48, a factory human resources manager, as PKR's candidate for Balik Pulau.

The representative of the 100-strong group, Wan Noryusmah Wan Yusuf said, they wanted the party leadership to reconsider the decision as it would invite a break-up in PKR.

"We, especially PKR supporters in Balik Pulau, do not agree with the newly announced candidate because he is not a local person and we did not know him at all prior to this (the announcement).

"Furthermore, the PKR leadership has also never discussed with PKR members here on the candidate and they made a decision without thinking of the repercussions," she told reporters.