PUTRAJAYA: Five state Kita chiefs have rebelled against Datuk Seri Zaid Ibrahim, who an­­nounced his decision to dissolve the party.

They say it is irresponsible of Zaid to announce his plan to dissolve the party without raising it with the rest of the leadership.

Now, they want him to resign.

We stand united Zamil (fourth from left) and other Kita leaders expressing solidarity in going against Zaid at a press conference in Putrajaya yesterday.

Kedah Kita chief Zamil Ibrahim said Zaid should not drag the party’s name in the mud just because he was not confident of winning a seat in the next general election under the party’s banner.

“I have spoken to him a few times and I can see that he wants to contest (in the general election). Just because you are not confident does not mean you can destroy the party.

“If you ask the states, they are all not confident of his chances simply because he does not go down to the field,” he told reporters here yesterday.

Slamming Zaid for being “unprincipled”, Za­­mil said Kedah Kita had made a “big mistake” in electing him as party chief.

He added that the party could also manage without Zaid’s financial backing, claiming that he had done next to nothing in helping them.

“He (Zaid) is being irresponsible to the party members and our supporters. For any party in Malaysia, this is not the time to talk of dissolution when we are getting ready for war.

“At this point, Kita should be having a dialogue with (sacked PAS leader Datuk) Dr Hassan Ali, who has emerged as the new third force,” he said.

Besides Zamil, present were Johor chief Dr Mohd Zaid Mohd Yusof and Selangor chief Azmi Othman.

Mohd Zaid, who also spoke for Sabah Kita, said they did not believe that the party chief’s polls chances would improve if he returned to Pakatan Rakyat.

He said, however, that Johor Kita was willing to overlook Zaid’s gaffe if he were to retract his planned dissolution and work towards strengthening the nascent party.

“We feel that even if he goes to Pakatan, he will end up with the same result. We feel it would be better if he stays with us and strengthen the party.”

In George Town, Penang Kita chairman and MP for Nibong Tebal, Tan Tee Beng, said Zaid should quit since he has failed to lead and let the members down.

Tan, who is away in Indonesia for the past four days, said he was shocked to hear about Zaid’s announcement.

“I was kept in the dark about this. There was no hint from him about the move. I will not bother to have a conversation with Zaid. What’s the point when he has decided things on his own?” he said.

Tan added that there had been a “serious communication breakdown” among party leaders over the past four months.

“In October last year, Zaid announced that Kita would not field any candidate in the coming general election. This decision was made without any consultation, including me as the party’s sole MP,” he said.

On rumours that the party would be disbanded following the resignation of many founding members, Tan, who joined Kita after a year of being an independent MP following his resignation from PKR, said some 1,000 members left the party recently.

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