11 Sabah PKR leaders jump ship
Making it clear: Najib, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman (on Najib’s right) and the PKR division leaders speaking at the press conference at Menara Dato Onn. — Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: Sabah PKR suffered a blow after leaders from 11 of the party’s 25 divisions joined two former state assemblymen in quitting the party, saying that they had lost faith in their national leadership.
Matunggong assemblyman Datuk Jelani Hamdan, Kadamaian assemblyman Jeremy Malajad and the 11 division leaders also pledged to support Barisan Nasional after meeting with the ruling coalition chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak here yesterday.
The 11 said that they were division chiefs from Kudat, Kota Marudu, Kota Belud, Sepanggar, Pensiangan, Beluran, Kinabatangan, Batu Sapi, Silam, Kalabakan and Semporna.
Jelani and Jeremy had earlier announced on Nov 4 that they would leave PKR to become independent assemblymen.
Najib, who held a press conference after meeting the group, said there would be a second group of PKR division chiefs from Sabah who would announce their decision to leave the party soon.
“With this, PKR is almost paralysed while Barisan will become even stronger in Sabah, allowing us to better serve the people of the state,” said Najib.
The Prime Minister said that while PKR would try to regroup, the defections would hurt the party, since much of its strength was drawn from grassroots leaders, many of whom had quit.
Jelani said the group decided to quit because certain PKR leaders had failed to fulfil their pledge to give the state grassroots leaders autonomy in deciding on certain matters.
“We have lost the trust with the leadership. They propagate Buku Jingga and pledge more autonomy for Sabah but their actions do not reflect what they say,” said Jelani.
He denied the group had been bought over, saying there was no reason for Barisan to do so as it already commanded a two-thirds majority in the state assembly.
Jeremy said the group had not yet decided on whether they would join a Barisan component party or remain independent but said that they would place their trust in Barisan “to bring more development to the people”.
Kota Marudu PKR division chief Anthony Mandiau said at least nine more division chiefs would soon announce their departure, bringing the number to 20 out of the 25 divisions in Sabah.
“The others are making arrangements to travel to Kuala Lumpur and will be announcing their decision soon,” said Anthony.
The Star
