SEREMBAN: Three PKR Youth wing leaders in Negri Sembilan have called for an extraordinary general meeting, claiming that grassroots members in the state have lost confidence in the leadership of national chief Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir (pic).

       They claimed that Akmal has not only failed to unite the Youth members but was the cause of further division in the wing following the removal of its leaders in Selangor and Perlis.

       The three – Rembau Youth chief Mohd Effendi Mat Aris, Ahmad Izzudin Ismail (Rasah) and Muhamad Affandi Abdul Malik (Port Dickson) – said they have also lost confidence in the leadership of state Youth leader Hafiz Mohamad.

       “Akmal has not only failed to unite Youth members but his recent decision to carry out a reshuffle has caused concern among the grassroots in the state.

       “His biggest failure is to deliberately sabotage efforts by our president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who has been giving his all to keep the Perikatan Nasional government in check, when he removed the Youth leaders in Selangor and Perlis among others without going through the proper process,” they said in a statement on Friday (July 2).

       They claimed that Hafiz has also failed to carry out any initiatives to stabilise or improve the Youth divisions in Negri Sembilan despite being appointed to the post almost a year ago.

       Hafiz, they claimed, had also failed to carry out his duties as an appointed secretary with the Port Dickson division.

       They questioned Akmal's criteria in deciding whether or not a state Youth chief had been performing.

       “The three of us, who were elected to our positions, want an extraordinary meeting of the Youth wing so we can pick a new national leader and continue with our struggle for Reformasi,” they said.

       On Wednesday (June 30), a group of axed PKR Youth leaders called for an EGM of the wing, citing their loss of confidence in Akmal's leadership.

       In a joint statement, former Selangor Youth chief Najwan Halimi, former Perlis Youth chief Azam Karap, former party Youth vice-chief Syed Badli Shah, former Youth assistant secretary Naqib Nasruddin, former deputy party strategic director Fakhrul Razi Zailan and former party student bureau chief Shahrul Nizam criticised their termination, which came about following an organisational reshuffle by Akmal.

       They claimed he had failed to carry out his responsibilities wisely as PKR's Angkatan Muda Keadilan (Youth wing) chief.

       They also claimed that as many as 110 out of 137 Youth division chiefs had lost confidence in Akmal's leadership.

       On April 28, PKR Youth explained that the decision to terminate the six came about following a special motion approved in a recent party congress to better prepare for the 15th General Election.