Anwar whacks PAS councillor Iszuree
MalaysiaKini.com
Sept 28, 2014

PKR will not defend PAS state treasurer Iszuree Ibrahim who was suspended from attending any working committee in the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) following his criticism of the state's squatter policy.
 
Iszuree who is the party's state land bureau chief, remains a councillor but his budget allocation has been frozen.
 
PKR defacto leader Anwar Ibrahim said Iszuree should have used the proper channels to air his grouses as he was part of Pakatan.
 
"You can criticise from facts, not from what you get from Umno. You want to use the state allocation but continue to criticise it - you cannot serve well by doing this," Anwar said when asked about the matter after the anti-sedition ceramah in Seberang Jaya last night.
 
Asked if he thought the action by the state was too excessive as it appeared to be intolerant of criticism, Anwar said, "Of course you can criticise."
 
"But the circumstances here may be different," he quipped.
 
Iszuree (left) had condemned the government for going against the Pakatan spirit of defending freedom of speech when they acted against him for alleging that the state continues to impose policies of the previous BN  government on squatters.
 
He claimed that his controversial speech was "misquoted" by Malaysiakini, in an article published on Sept 19 headlined 'PAS delegate says Penang pro-developer,like BN'.
 
PAS central committee member Nasrudin Hassan slammed the DAP led government for "beheading" Iszuree, saying that it was a grudge that DAP had all along. 

Nasrudin himself is facing legal action from the chief minister for claiming that the Penang tunnel project had been awarded without open tender.

Party discipline in question
 
Asked if this would further worsen the relationship between PAS and DAP, following the Selangor crisis when the latter defended PKR's choice of menteri besar, Anwar said "yes and no".
 
"You can speak but if for example, you keep attacking the president of PKR every day, what happens? There is party discipline there.
 
"Yes, there is freedom of speech in that you do not drag him to a criminal court," he quipped.
 
Anwar said he is all for freedom of speech but if a party leader continues to "whack" his boss, he cannot serve the party any more as members must subscribe to party policies.
 
Anwar said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had alerted him about the issue but he has yet to be familiar with it.

He added he also told PKR members that if they had any reservations or concerns with new Menteri Besar Azmin Ali, they should express it at the proper forum.
 
Now that he is the MB, give him the support, Anwar urged.

'Iszuree's remarks were malicious'
 
Meanwhile, Penang PKR deputy chief Afif Bahardin is disappointed with Iszuree's allegations at the state government.
 
He said Iszuree's remarks were "malicious and did not reflect the real situation in Penang".
 
Afif (left) said the state cabinet in a meeting on Sept 25 decided to drop Iszuree from all council working committees is based on the councillor's "slanderous remarks" that the state government was like BN because it continues to implement pro-developer policies.
 
He said that it is not true as the current state government will not issue any work order to develop land with squatters on it.
 
"This policy was to encourage developers to negotiate and resolve cases with squatters.
 
“Unfortunately, certain developers, aligned to BN and Umno, refused to negotiate and used court action on squatters without providing them proper compensation," said Afif.
 
He reminded Iszuree that it was state government policy to pay compensation or provide replacement units for squatters forced to relocate due to development on land under the state's jurisdiction.
 
Iszuree was also reminded that the state only acquired land for public use, including acquiring land belonging to non-Malays and non-Muslims to be used as Muslim burial grounds.
 
Afif said Iszuree must remember he was appointed, not elected, by the state as councillor based on confidence and faith in him as a supporter of the state government.
 
He added that whatever policies formulated by the state was a "collective responsibility".
 
"The state government is open to any criticism as long as it is not a slander or ridicule," said the PKR national deputy youth leader.
 
"Please think rationally and see if your actions are in line with the Pakatan spirit. 
 
"The state will not hesitate to take action on those in the administration who refuse to respect the collaboration between us," said Afif.

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