PPBM founding member Kamarulazman Habibur Rahman, who announced his resignation from the party today, said this is what he and many other PPBM members have realised, after the voices of the “new ones” were ignored.
“We’ve always said that there are problems within PPBM, and they were not handled well. We also realised that the leaders have been at the top for too long, that they don’t know what’s happening on the ground.
“Instead, they’ve been relying on wrong information provided by those who only say what is nice to hear,” he said at a press conference at Sunway Putra Hotel here today.
Kamarulazman said this group of people who have been feeding the party leaders with nothing but pleasant information comprised those who joined the party solely for their personal interests.
“They are damaging the party by doing so and it is for this reason that I now believe PPBM will have a tough time competing against Umno,” he said.
As had been established since the party was launched, PPBM’s main goal is to take on Umno in the Malay heartland.
Hence, Kamarulazman said only if the party goes back to its original struggles, can it provide some tough competition for Umno.
“But as it is now, where day by day they are moving away from their initial goals, I don’t think PPBM can compete effectively against Umno any longer.
“It is not easy to win in Umno’s strongholds, and PPBM has not made much headway.”
He also said that the main reason why PPBM has not been gaining much momentum on the ground, is because the well-intentioned members have been keeping quiet.
“We respect the leaders too much, and this will only cause our downfall.”
According to Kamarulazman, he had tried to voice out his thoughts on certain matters involving the party and its direction, but this wasn’t accepted well by the party leaders.
This also led to some branding him as someone who is not politically savvy.
“When I speak the truth, some got offended. These include the party president (Muhyiddin Yassin) and the deputy president (Mukhriz Mahathir).
“There are also those who say that I don’t know how to play politics,” he said.
Kamarulazman had earlier announced his resignation from PPBM, saying 821 members nationwide will follow suit in due time.
Meanwhile, Kamarulazman said he has no plans to join any other political party for now.
However, he intends to revive the inactive group of rebel Umno branch chiefs (Gabungan Ketua Cawangan Malaysia, or GKCM).
“We will revive GKCM, and multiply its influence by giving talks to members of the public, especially those from the rural areas.
“And we are ever willing to sit down with leaders of any party, even Prime Minister Najib Razak to give our views on what the public wants,” he said.