PKMS rival factions clash violently over power transition
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PKMS rival factions clash violently over power transition dispute
SINGAPORE: Violence broke out on Thursday between rival factions of one of Singapore's opposition parties - the Singapore Malay National Organisation or PKMS.
PKMS is short for Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura.
Five people were injured and admitted to hospital. Four have since been discharged, while one member is in intensive care. Twenty-one people were arrested for rioting.
The fighting took place outside the PKMS headquarters in Eunos between two camps - the outgoing and incoming office bearers - who are feuding over power transition.
The old guard accused a leader of the new committee of inciting violence by sending an SMS to its supporters to take over the party by force. The message had called the outgoing leaders "traitors" who allegedly used up party funds.
Osman Hassan, PKMS president (2006-2009), said: "They came and so I asked my members to straight away call the police. But I'm surprised that by the time they arrived, the police were already here. So the fight broke out in front of the police."
But the new guard said they were merely trying to change the lock to the building to prevent illegal immigrants from entering. They claimed the outgoing committee, headed by Osman, would not allow them to do so and attacked them.
Nor Lella Mohamed, PKMS deputy president (2008-2010), said: "There are two legal office bearers here. We are fully aware that their term has expired on 2 September. Some of their Supreme Council members told us that they are not having any AGM, (which) they are supposed to (do so). So if they are not having it, we take it as their term has already expired. After we had a meeting with our own Supreme Council, they decided that we should go to PKMS and sort this thing out."
Channel NewsAsia spoke to the family of the victim admitted to the intensive care unit in hospital. There was clearly some tension when the reporter mentioned Osman, suggesting there was quite a deep divide between the two sides.
Family members said the victim, Ramlan, was conscious when they met him but both his eyes were swollen shut.
This is not the first time violence has broken out between the two rival factions.
The new guard had claimed some of its members who had served on the previous committee were unlawfully terminated from their leadership positions.
Both sides had also accused each other of misappropriating party funds and violating their party's constitution.
- CNA/yb/ir -
fight until it ends up occupying 2 lanes of Changi Rd
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Originally posted by sbst275:
fight until it ends up occupying 2 lanes of Changi Rd
Did it obstruct the bus lanes?
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Think next election there will be another new party formed from the breakaway faction of PKMS.
Haiz..............
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Originally posted by deepak.c:
Did it obstruct the bus lanes?
since it's on the left side of the lane so -
what kind of opposition political party is this??? Gangster ??
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wah lau eh..
one of them with fractured skull and is in ICU..
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Originally posted by the Bear:
wah lau eh..
one of them with fractured skull and is in ICU..
can help laughing it it happened in a political party.
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Police question 21 people for rioting in PKMS fight
Police have brought in 21 people for questioning in relation to a fight that broke out today among members of the political party PKMS.
At least three people were injured and were sent to the Changi General Hospital.
One of them, Ramlan Mohamad, is now in the Intensive Care Unit.
He suffered a fractured skull but is conscious.
The fight broke out just after noon outside the party's headquarters at Changi Road.
According to Mr Ramlan's twin brother, Ramli Mohamad, the two of them, along with five other members were there to physically take over the party's offices.
Mr Ramli says they're part of the new Supreme council voted in, last November at an extraordinary general meeting.
But the old guards never acknowledged them and refused to step down.
Mr Ramli said while at the headquarters today, they tried to change the lock to the backdoor of the building.
In: We need to...
Out: ...they put tent.
Dur: 22 secs
Title: 03/09 PKMS lock SOTWe need to lock the back door because we found one of the Indonesia female, we ever came by, we saw they're illegal immigrants, they run when we ask for their permit and we want to call the Police. We also saw 3 Bangledeshis. I also call URA regarding they misuse the top level, level 5, they use for cooking, they put tent.
While changing the lock, Mr Ramli said, they had dropped their tools including screwdrivers and hammers.
About 15 members of the old guards then used the tools to attack Mr Ramli and his colleagues, a few of them on the head.
But current party President Osman Hassan said it was Mr Ramli and his colleagues who attacked the old guards with the tools.
Mr Osman maintains that he and his team are the rightful leaders of the party.
The other two people injured and now warded in hospital are
Mohamed Salleh bin Mohamed Said, an Assistant to the Supreme Council, and,Mr Mohamad Yusof bin Jaffar, a council member.
--938Live
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Think next election we won't be seeing them liao.
If jail term or fine above certain amount, can't take part in elections.
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Old guard, new team from PKMS insist they are rightful office bearers
SINGAPORE: The rival factions of opposition party Singapore Malay National Organisation (PKMS) have insisted they are the rightful office bearers of PKMS, one day after party members fought outside the PKMS headquarters to take over the premises.
Mr Osman Hassan, the current PKMS president, met the media with the old council at the PKMS building in Eunos on Friday evening. The party said it regretted the violence that broke out on Thursday.
Meanwhile the other faction, led by Borhan Ariffin who was elected president in an extraordinary general meeting last November, said they will let the police investigate the matter before deciding what to do next.
One member from the new team is still in intensive care at the Changi General Hospital.
"He's still not responding very clearly... He tends to jerk in his sleep and yesterday during the bandage there was bleeding... and during the eye check-up just now, the doctor mentioned the possibility of another fracture on the left side (of his face)," said Nor Lella Mohamed, PKMS deputy president (2008-2010).
- CNA/ir
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opposition already weak enough, if this goes on PKMS in loving memory already.
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PKMS infighting will hurt party's image
The ongoing leadership tussle within the Singapore Malay National Organisation or PKMS which escalated into a violent brawl on Thursday is another blow to the opposition political party.
The rival factions admit this will hurt the image and credibility of the party in the eyes of the community.
Saifulbahri Ismail reports :
Infighting within a political party is nothing out of the ordinary.
Disputes arise when members don't see eye to eye.
But when it spills violently onto the streets in public, and people get hurt, such conflicts start to raise eyebrows.
Since 2006, PKMS has been split into two groups which have been at loggerheads with each other.
On Thursday, they were involved in a bust-up outside their headquarters.
Four men were taken to hospital, with one warded in intensive care with a fractured skull.
Even before this, heated exchanges have occurred during their meetings -- to the point where insults were hurled and objects thrown.
Current Secretary General of PKMS Malik Ismail maintained that it's not a violent party :
"The impression of the community towards PKMS as in the past has been very bad. We try our level best to improve our image, to improve our community interaction in order to ensure that we are part of Singapore. We want to contribute as an organisation."
PKMS is an opposition party that was established to look after the interests of the Malays in Singapore.
However, its objectives have been blurred over the years.
Ramli Mohamad, is the Secretary General of the group who's challenging the current leadership :
"The image of the party of PKMS now is totally out of our objectives - to put our people back to politics. About 80s PKMS become worse and worse and now become not even worse become totally rubbish."
PKMS is a constituent member of the Singapore Democratic Alliance set up to form a common opposition front against the ruling People's Action Party.
According to political analyst Yang Razali Kassim, PKMS's contiunous internal conflicts could also have a negative effect on othe opposition parties in Singapore :
"In the eyes of the public in Singapore, sometimes its not easy to separate the state of one opposition party with the state of opposition in general. Because of have a situation where political parties in the opposition tend to one to group together to face the ruling party. The adverse effect of coming together is that the fate of one party can have contagious effect on the other party in the alliance of coalition in the opposition."
It's unclear if the rival factions within the PKMS will be able to reach an agreement and reconcile their differences anytime soon.
The current team led by President Osman Hassan occupies a four-storey PKMS building at Changi Road.
--938Live
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They fought each other right infront of the police. Lagi bagus!
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Old man Lee will know something about backstabbing rival factions in PAP.
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SDA: We don't get involved in PKMS' internal affairs
The Singapore Democratic Alliance will not interfere in the current controversy involving one of its member parties, the Singapore Malay National Organisation or PKMS
One of SDA's founding members, Sin Kek Tong told 938LIVE that it doesn't get involved in other parties' internal affairs.
"Even though SDA is a political party grouping in Singapore, we never get involved in each individual party's internal affairs at all. We will leave this internal affair for them to resolve by themselves altogether. This has been the practice all the while."Mr Sin, who's also the Chairman of the Singapore People's Party, is aware that the brawl which took place at the PKMS building on Thursday will affect public's perception of the Alliance.
But he stresses that there is not much that SDA can do.
"We do know they have some internal party power struggle which is a norm in any organisation. We just hope that the next time we meet up with them we will caution them again and say, 'Things like these should not happen at all'. "Mr Sin also says that SDA recognises Osman Hassan as the President of PKMS and Malik Ismail as its Secretary General.
However, the leadership of PKMS is disputed by a group within the party led by former president Borhan Ariffin.
Mr Borhan's team claimed that the leadership of Mr Osman had expired on 2nd September following the result of an Extraordinary General Meeting held on 30th November last year.
But the current leadership doesn't recognise the result of the meeting.
The move by Mr Borhan's team to take over the office led to the scuffle at Changi Road on Thursday.
Twenty-one people were arrested in the brawl and all have been released on bail.
--938Live
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Old guard, new guard, power transfer dispute, changing of locks.....
Why does all this sound so familiar?
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Why PKMS "new guard" didn't appeal
A court appeal would have been redundant and a waste of money.
That's the reason given by a breakaway group that has been trying to gain control of the Singapore Malay National Organisation or PKMS for not making the appeal.
This after the Supreme Court dismissed the group's summons in July, which questioned the validity of the position of the current president, Osman Hassan in the party.
His leadership is disputed by the breakaway group within PKMS, led by former president Borhan Ariffin.
The group's Secretary General is Ramli Mohamed.
"Our lawyer advised us that it is no use to appeal. That's because the "old guards" will have to vacate their positions on 2nd September as their leadership terms would have ended by then. They were elected on 2nd September 2007 and leaders are elected once every two years. We'd rather wait for a few months than spend $10,000 to appeal against the dismissal. So we decided to wait until the 3rd of September before claiming what is rightfully ours. If we can wait for two years, what's another two months?"Mr Ramli was indignant when 938LIVE informed him that the Singapore Democratic Alliance recognises Mr Osman as the president of PKMS and not Mr Borhan.
"SDA can choose whoever it likes - it's their right. But the truth will surface soon. SDA should study the situation closely before making such a decision."Mr Ramli said, he would like to meet SDA members so that they could hear both sides of the story.
However, SDA stressed it doesn't interfere in other parties' internal affairs.
Mr Ramli's group went down to the PKMS building at Changi Road on Thursday to change its locks.
But it was confronted by the incumbent group and a fight broke out.
This resulted in the arrest of 21 people - all of whom were later released on bail.
--938Live
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No signs of resolution for PKMS dispute
The current dispute between the two rival factions of the Singapore Malay National Organisation or PKMS is showing no signs of resolution.
The parties are now accusing each other of poor leadership skills, leading to possible failure in fulfilling one of the party's main obligations - to look after the interests of the Malays in Singapore.
A bust-up took place near the PKMS headquarters off Changi Road last week after a breakaway group tried to regain control of the building by changing its locks.
This resulted in a fight and four people were injured, with one ending up with a fractured skull.
Police arrested 21 people who were allegedly involved in the brawl.
PKMS' former President, Borhan Ariffin heads the group that's challenging the current leadership.
Speaking to reporters at a dialogue at the Speakers' Corner, he claimed that the party's incumbent President, Osman Hassan hasn't done anything to help the Malay community.
"When I was the President between 2000 and 2006, we organised a lot of activities to help the Malays in Singapore. You heard about a move in the past to push for a Malay President of Singapore? Whose idea was it? Mine! We also helped the community in Riau in areas such as education and IT. Mr Osman has done nothing for the community!"
If his group were to regain control of the PKMS, Mr Borhan said, one of the first things that he'd do is to roll out initiatives to strengthen ties within the Malay community.
His deputy, Nor Lella Mardiiiah Mohamed said, the group will also make use of the PKMS headquarters to organise activities such as tuition classes to students.
"We are looking at the opportunities that PKMS can go further in helping the Malays. If they have any problems like family matters, education matters, tuition matters, feel free to come to us. The building is at a strategic location. There's a lot of room for improvement. But even though we do not get access to the building, we will still continue with our activities."
Ms Nor Lella Mardiiiah however stressed that the breakaway group cannot provide financial help as it has no means of income.
This, unlike its rival that collects rent from the tenants in the PKMS building.
In response to the accusations made by the breakaway group, Mr Osman had this to say:
"Actually, we have organised a lot of activities. Several cultural events like Hari Raya gatherings. We also celebrate religious festivals together."
Apart from this, Mr Osman declined to reveal any more details about the organisation's future activities.
--938Live
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actually screw it all lah.. knn this day and age still "look after the interests of the malays in Singapore" ?
whatever it is, they should be working towards "looking after the interest of Singaporeans"
anyway, how is the poor sod with the fractured skull? better already or not?
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PKMS head of info gets six weeks jail
The head of information at the beleaguered Singapore Malay National Organisation or PKMS party - was jailed for six weeks on Friday for hitting a former party colleague on the head with a vase.
Siti Sawiah Osman, who's 42, admitted to hurting Ramli Mohamad, now the secretary-general of an opposing faction in PKMS, at the party headquarters in Changi Road in March 2007.
Mr Ramli left a room following a heated meeting and sat next to Siti on a bench in the lobby.
While looking through some documents, Mr Ramli turned and glared at Siti, who responded by telling him in Malay that she resented his behaviour.
The stall holder then took a porcelain vase and hit him on the head with it.
Mr Ramli, who's 49, was hospitalised.
Siti could have been jailed up to a year and fined up to $1,000, or both.
PKMS has a history of infighting.
Last month, rival factions of the party armed with weapons clashed in a street fight in full view of lunchtime traffic, resulting in bloodshed and 21 arrests.--938Live
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Beats watching UFC matches on the internet, i wonder when they are holding the next AGM. i wanna buy front row seats.
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Originally posted by QX179R:
PKMS head of info gets six weeks jail
The head of information at the beleaguered Singapore Malay National Organisation or PKMS party - was jailed for six weeks on Friday for hitting a former party colleague on the head with a vase.
Siti Sawiah Osman, who's 42, admitted to hurting Ramli Mohamad, now the secretary-general of an opposing faction in PKMS, at the party headquarters in Changi Road in March 2007.
Mr Ramli left a room following a heated meeting and sat next to Siti on a bench in the lobby.
While looking through some documents, Mr Ramli turned and glared at Siti, who responded by telling him in Malay that she resented his behaviour.
The stall holder then took a porcelain vase and hit him on the head with it.
Mr Ramli, who's 49, was hospitalised.
Siti could have been jailed up to a year and fined up to $1,000, or both.
PKMS has a history of infighting.
Last month, rival factions of the party armed with weapons clashed in a street fight in full view of lunchtime traffic, resulting in bloodshed and 21 arrests.--938Live
wah... use vase to smash the guy's skull in!!
anyway, who do they think they are? AWARE?
