The People's Welfare Party or ''Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air'' (KITA) is a small political party in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, based in the state of

Kelantan Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode"). Kelantan is located in the ...

Founded as AKIM (1995)

The party was formerly known as the Malaysian People Justice Front or Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia when it was founded on 16 February 1995. AKIM was founded as a splinter party of

Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party The Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS; ms, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia; ms, ڤرتي إسلام سمليسيا, label=Jawi alphabet, Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is an Islamist political party in Malaysia. As the party focused on Islamic fundamen ...

in 1995 following internal disagreements by members within the party. A few members from

Parti Melayu Semangat 46 The Parti Melayu Semangat 46 or ''Spirit of 46 Malay Party (S46)'' is a now defunct Malaysian political party. The party was formed in 1988, and dissolved in 1996. It was formed by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's "Team B" faction of the United Malays ...

also joined the fray following its dissolution in 1996. AKIM contested in the 1999 general elections for the parliamentary seats of

Pasir Puteh Pasir Puteh District is a district (jajahan) in Kelantan, Malaysia. The town of Pasir Putih is situated on the bank of Semerak River, about 30 kilometers to the south of Kota Bharu. Pasir Puteh district borders Terengganu to its south-east. ...

and

Kota Bharu Kota Bharu, colloquially referred to as KB, is a town in Malaysia that serves as the state capital and royal seat of Kelantan. It is situated in the northeastern part of Peninsular Malaysia and lies near the mouth of the Kelantan River. The ...

but failed. In 2008, the party's president, Hanafi Mamat registered itself to participate in the Permatang Pauh by-election, but only managed to catch 92 votes in the election and losing his RM 15,000 deposit in the process. Nevertheless, he hoped that the election could serve as a platform to introduce the party to the nation.

Relaunched as KITA (2011)

On 13 December 2010, AKIM announced that Datuk

Zaid Ibrahim Dato' Mohd Zaid bin Ibrahim ( Jawi: محمد زيد بن إبراهيم; born 10 April 1951) is a Malaysian politician, lawyer and former Minister in the Prime Minister's Department for Legal Affairs and Judicial Reform (March 2008-September ...

has joined its ranks as a party member, with the view of having Zaid lead and revamp AKIM into a viable political party for the coming 13th Malaysian General Elections. The party further explained that Zaid had submitted his membership application to join AKIM in Nov 2010 after his former party,

Parti Keadilan Rakyat The People's Justice Party ( ms, Parti Keadilan Rakyat , often known simply as KEADILAN or PKR) is a reformist political party in Malaysia, formed in 2003 by a merger of the National Justice Party and the older Malaysian People's Party. The ...

, accepted Zaid's resignation. During the party's annual general meeting on 15 December 2010, Zaid Ibrahim was elected as the party's new president (later called "Party Chief"), taking over from Zakaria Salleh, the outgoing president of AKIM. The party also announced that it will be adopting a new name, the People's Welfare Party or Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air. Zaid Ibrahim also announced that KITA would be a multi-racial democratic party open to all races in Malaysia, and despite its current small size, aims to make an impact in the country's political scene by focusing on goals for the long haul. Zaid also announced that KITA's official party ideology and principles, including its new constitution, manifesto and logo, will be unveiled in Kuala Lumpur on 19 January 2011. Zaid Ibrahim sought to dissolve KITA in February 2012, and resigned as its chief later that year due to quarrels within the party.

Presidents/Party Chief

Presidents

* 1995–1998: Musa Salih * 1998–1999: Mohd Din Nizam Din (acting) * 1999–2002: Mohammad Yusoff * 2002–2009: Hanafi Mamat * 2009–2010: Zakaria Salleh

Party Chief

* 2010–2012:

Akim renamed Kita, Zaid’s president
, (The Malaysian Insider), 15 December 2010 * 2012–: Masrum Dayat

General election results

References

External links

Zaid Untuk Rakyat
*
Parti Kita
on Twitter (2011) {{Malaysian political parties Islamic political parties in Malaysia Political parties established in 1995 Political parties in Malaysia 1995 establishments in Malaysia