Tuaran PKR chief Razeef Rakimin said such moves to silence differing opinions are regressive and go against the reformist spirit that has been the foundation of the party since its inception.

Razeef also said party leaders should take to heart a recent statement by PKR veteran Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, who encouraged healthy differences of opinion within the party.

“The actions of these division leaders are attempts to stifle free speech and reject diverse opinions. Many leaders now appear to have strayed from the principles and promises of reform,” he said in a statement.

“They must remember that a government born from reform must remain open to views and criticisms, even from within.

“Do we want to allow the reform agenda to become nothing more than an empty slogan, while its principles are discarded?”

Nineteen divisions in Johor yesterday called for Rafizi Ramli and eight other PKR MPs to be suspended after they called for the establishment of an RCI, and a hearing by the parliamentary select committee following delays in the appointment of top judicial positions, which they said amounted to a constitutional crisis.

The division chiefs said the MPs’ actions not only breached party discipline and ethics, but also cast a negative light on the prime minister’s leadership and opened the door to political manipulation by rivals.

Saifuddin, a former PKR secretary-general, had previously said the party welcomed different perspectives, and the call by the nine MPs was a sign of healthy internal discourse.

He said PKR was an “open party” which allows its members, including backbenchers, to voice different perspectives.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers has rejected the MPs’ call for an RCI after stating that the senior judges’ appointment process for senior judges was proceeding in accordance with the Federal Constitution.