SHAH ALAM, 28 Nov 2008: Wanita Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) today passed several resolutions at its annual congress, but conspicuously missing was the one calling for the automatic resignation of elected representatives embroiled in corruption or sex scandals.
This was one of the resolutions Wanita PKR chief Zuraida Kamaruddin had been touting at a news conference on 23 Nov. Zuraida had said all PKR elected representatives would have been required to hand over a pre-signed resignation letter for this purpose.
The PKR Youth wing had also said they would support such a resolution, which was prompted by the case of a PKR Perak councillor who was embroiled in a sex scandal.
However, the resolution was not tabled at the 5th PKR National Wanita Congress held here today.
When queried, Zuraida told The Nut Graph the resolution was not tabled because the matter required further study first.
“They (the top leaders) agreed in the principle that we want to have a clean leadership with integrity. Nobody should doubt that,” she said, adding that there were ethics and moral considerations.
Zuraida strongly denied suggestions that the resolution was dropped due to de facto PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is currently facing a sodomy charge.
Pressed again on whether Anwar was really not an issue at all, she said: “Not really. We have confidence that all our representatives are clean.”
Wanita PKR instead proposed that all elected representatives from the party sign a standard code of ethics that will help to guide them on their conduct. But Zuraida said the code of ethics required some fine-tuning before being presented.
When approached by The Nut Graph, Angkatan Muda Keadilan chief Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin said the Youth wing in principle supported the proposed resolution for elected reps to resign if they are embroiled in scandals.
However, he said that due process was necessary before any action is taken, adding that an accused should be given the chance to defend himself or herself via the legal system and resign only after he or she was found guilty.
“That is our condition when we say we support the motion.
“Otherwise, we will put (Datuk Seri) Anwar (Ibrahim) at risk because people will question us and accuse us of having double standards,” he said at the sidelines of the Youth congress.
He added that however, in the case of ex-Perak councillor Zul Hassan, he was sacked by the state government after confessing that he was involved in the sex scandal. 
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