Sabah PKR defections: Blame Anwar
A Sabah party assemblyman claims Anwar Ibrahim had promised to help finance their service centres but nothing has yet reached them.
Luke Rintod, FMT
PKR’s de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim’s unfulfilled promise to help financially the party’s assemblymen in Sabah is believed to be the real reason behind the impending defection of two of its elected representatives.
The two assemblymen speculated to leave PKR this week are Matunggong’s Jelani Hamdan and Kadamaian’s Jeremmy Ukoh Malajad.
Local party insiders claimed that Sabah PKR might also lose two other assemblymen and its single MP soon, if the opposition party leaders reneged on the promise to give financial aids for representatives to operate their service centres.
A Sabah PKR assemblyman who declined to be named told FMT that Anwar had pledged, post general election, to help financially the party’s elected representatives but thus far there’s been no news.
The general election was in May.
“Soon after the general election, Anwar promised these assemblymen the party would chip in to kick-start the operation or service centres of Sabah assemblymen.
“Even Lajim Ukin (had since appointed to head Sabah PKR) talked of the same offer of help from PKR,” the assemblyman said.
PKR is currently in control of the rich Selangor state in Peninsular, while its counterparts DAP and PAS control the states of Penang and Kelantan respectively.
According to the assemblyman, Sabah PKR leaders started to lose hope and confidence in the PKR leadership which they claimed is embroiled in its own internal bickering both at state and national levels.
“PKR itself has internal problems, not mentioning its difficult relationships with DAP and PAS.
“Anwar’s promise to help sounded good but we have not seen any concrete help taking place and there is no sign it is going to be fulfilled, not until PKR assemblymen had left,” added the assemblyman.
