SHAH ALAM, 20 April 2009: The PPP supreme council will meet this weekend to set the dates for the nomination and polling for party elections, expected to be held in June this year.
PPP president Datuk M Kayveas said the party had to hold elections for the top posts this year following requests by state PPP leaders recently.
“Although the last party elections were held in 2005, the PPP constitution allows for the supreme council to defer the elections of top office-bearers for a period not more than 5 years.
“The current term already passed its fourth year after its last elections in 2005 and this year is an apt time for the poll,” Kayveas told Bernama when contacted today.
In the elections, about 2,700 delegates will elect a president, a senior vice-president, three vice-presidents and 25 supreme council members.
The PPP president has the power to appoint the secretary-general, treasurer-general, information chief and 10 other supreme council members.
Kayveas, who took over the presidency in 1993 and retained the post for three consecutive terms, said he would defend his post in the elections.
Meanwhile, Kayveas, who is former Taiping Member of Parliament, said the party would not make an individual stand on whether the Barisan Nasional (BN) should contest the Penanti state by-election in Penang.
“PPP will abide by the majority view taken by the BN’s leadership in the true spirit of the coalition,” he said, adding the party would also consider the call made by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in asking the BN to contest the seat.
Kayveas also said that the BN supreme council need not hold meetings to decide whether to participate in the Penanti by-election.
“I don’t see the need for a meeting as consensus can be attained through short messaging service and email, which is applicable worldwide,” he said.
The seat fell vacant on 16 April following the resignation of former Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin. — Bernama
