PKR unfazed by Wong Chen’s provocation, says deputy sec-gen

PETALING JAYA: PKR will not play along with Wong Chen’s attempts to provoke the party into taking action on his terms, says deputy secretary-general Sivamalar Genapathy.

Sivamalar told the Subang MP to stop his “political theatre” and focus on his work as a public representative, saying that Subang’s voters did not elect a “content creator” to address their concerns.

“Nobody will be punished for having friends or attending a public event,” Malaysia Gazette reported her as saying today, referring to Wong Chen’s presence at a Parti Bersama Malaysia event in Negeri Sembilan on Saturday.

“However, the real question is whether a public representative remains committed to the mandate and political platform on which they were elected,” she said.

This comes after Wong Chen dared PKR to take stronger disciplinary action against him, including sacking him, after the party issued him a show-cause letter following his attendance at a press conference where Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad announced their takeover of Bersama.

Speaking at the Bersama event on Saturday, he questioned the basis of the letter and the professionalism of the party’s disciplinary process, claiming that the letter lacked specific details of the alleged wrongdoing.

“If you want to issue a show-cause letter, it must be done professionally. You cannot conduct it like a fishing expedition. You need to show evidence and be specific,” he said.

Wong also accused the party of being afraid to ask him to resign because doing so would reduce its numbers in Parliament. “If you dare, sack me. I can still continue as Subang MP,” he said.

Sivamalar, however, told Wong Chen that his victory in the 15th general election could not be attributed solely to his popularity as the party’s members and machinery had worked hard to ensure his campaign’s success.

“Don’t create the impression that your mandate came solely from your popularity,” she said.

Sivamalar also said that while Wong Chen was within his rights to attend the Bersama event, his attendance seemed to give legitimacy to a political movement offering an alternative to PKR.

“No political party can function well if its own leaders campaign for other political platforms while enjoying the status they obtained through their own party.

“He constantly pushes the narrative that he is a victim of persecution. The truth is that no one is forcing him to attend events held by other parties or to challenge his own party openly,” she said.