PKR’s deputy youth chief Dr Afif Bahardin said direct voting can be manipulated.

“It allows dormant or inactive members to vote,” he said at a press conference at the state assembly today.

In the direct voting system used by PKR, members vote for the president, vice-presidents and other posts.

Afif said this has caused much discontent and “fatigue” (lelah) among party members and the public.

“We must realise that we are now the governing party and we have to remain relevant so as to survive the next polls and the polls after that.

“News reports on problems arising from our voting system have sullied the image of the party.”

The PKR’s e-voting system has been plagued with complaints of long waits, jamming of signals and allegations of malware to manipulate or wipe out data.

Afif said the party must be open to change.

“If we remain too rigid, we will end up like Umno and BN. We must be the agents of change that the people want.”

He said he would first propose a motion at the PKR Youth Congress this Friday for a complete rethink of the party’s voting system and how members would vote for their leaders in future.

“If we go on with the current voting process and system, we will have a hard time.”