Jeffrey and team set for division battles

By Muguntan Vanar, TheStar

KOTA KINABALU: The battle lines between two key PKR leaders in Sabah are being drawn as the party gears for division polls later this month.

Vice-president Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan and his team aim to take control of all the divisions and knock out former state PKR chief Ansari Abdullah in his home base of Tuaran.

Ansari, on the other hand, said whatever problems Dr Jeffrey was facing were due to his political manoeuverings and he (Ansari) had no intention to “fix up” his rival.

As nominations closed over the weekend, most of the 25 divisions face straight fights between Dr Jeffrey’s men and those widely seen as aligned to Ansari, a PKR supreme council member.

State party chairman Ahmad Thamrin, also the Libaran division chief, was among four division leaders who were returned unopposed.

Dr Jeffrey, whose 12 lieutenants were recently suspended for trying to form a new party, has reportedly chosen to stay out of the division contests.

He is likely to only defend his vice-president’s post during the party election later this year.

Ansari, seen as the person who could block Dr Jeffrey’s camp from gaining full control of the party in Sabah, is expected to be challenged in Tuaran by former Tamparuli assemblyman Edward Linggi.