Five division heads and 10 youth leaders of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) from the northern states walked out en masse from the party Sunday.
They cited their dissatisfaction of the leadership of PKR advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as their reason for quitting the party.
Former Kedah PKR secretary Zamil Ibrahim, who spoke on their behalf, said the party had deviated from its original struggle since Anwar was freed from prison.
"Anwar has made PKR become like a business entity where he is the chief executive officer and runs it as he likes," he told reporters when announcing his quitting the party at a hotel here.
He added that the other leaders who joined him in quitting PKR had remained in their hotel rooms because certain people had threatened to harm them.
They were among some 200 PKR members who chose to quit the party because they no longer had any faith in it, Zamil said, adding that Anwar's unwillingness to swear the Islamic way that he did not sodomise a former male aide of his also contributed to their decision to leave PKR.
Former PKR Youth head Ezam Mohd Nor, who was also present, said their leaving was a good sign that the Barisan Nasional (BN) would win the Permatang Pauh by-election on Tuesday.
The by-election involves a three-way fight between Anwar, the BN's Arif Shah Omar Shah and Hanafi Mamat of Angkatan Keadilan Islam (Akim
