KLANG: Two members of PKR veterans’ group Otai Reformis 1998 will be joining the fray at the upcoming party polls.

       Otai Reformis secretary Abdul Razak Ismail (pic) said he will be contesting together with deputy chief Mustapa Mansor Amer Mohd Isa for the central leadership council positions.

       There are 20 central leadership council positions in PKR, of which 11 are elected and nine are appointed.

       Abdul Razak said his group decided to have representatives contesting in the polls because they wanted to play an active role in strengthening the party and addressing various issues.

       "You cannot just stand outside the party and make noise all the time.

       "You have to get into the party to help the party grow as well as bring up local grassroots issues to the top leadership for them to be best handled," he said.

       He added that many party veterans were also neglected in spite of struggling for the PKR cause for 23 years and hence a voice from within the party was needed to help them out.

       "Many PKR veterans come under the B40 category and their welfare must be taken care of by the party, especially in Selangor and Negri Sembilan which are under Pakatan Harapan," he said.

       Abdul Razak also said he wanted a louder voice in addressing some issues such as the recent de-gazettement of the Kuala Langat Forest Reserve.

       "So if both Otai manage to get into the central leadership council, we will have a louder voice to address matters such as this as well as environmental issues like floods, water disruption and poor conditions of public amenities," he said.

       He said PKR needed loud veteran voices at this juncture for the party to go through some necessary reforms in order to re-engage its support base before the next general election.

       Otai Reformis 1998 is made up of party veterans loyal to its president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.