Musa predicts more PKR defections in Sabah
(MM) – Datuk Seri Musa Aman predicted today more defections from Sabah PKR after Kadamaian assemblyman Jeremy Malajad’s departure yesterday, fuelling speculation of more troubles for the peninsula-based party in its east Malaysian chapter.
In a report on The Star Online here, the state Barisan Nasional (BN) chief said the defections were to be expected as many members in the peninsula-based PKR have begun to lose confidence in the party’s leadership, post-Election 2013.
“There is a realisation among the PKR leaders that only by cooperating with Barisan Nasional can they help their constituents,” he said after the Maal Hijrah gathering in Kota Kinabalu, the English news portal reported.
Yesterday, Malay daily Utusan Malaysia reported Malajad as saying at a press conference that he quit all his party posts and relinquished his PKR membership to become a BN-friendly independent state assemblyman.
Party insiders who were contacted by The Malay Mail Online confirmed that the issue had long been brewing in PKR’s state leadership, with both Malajad and Matunggong assemblyman Jailani Hamdan said to have been unhappy over the lack of representation of the KadazanDusun-Murut at the state’s top leadership.
Jailani is also speculated to drop out of the party soon.
Jailani confirmed with The Malay Mail Online that Malajad’s departure was long expected, and said that it is not long before he does the same.
“All the stories you heard about us being unhappy over the absence of the KDM at the top are true. We even raised this with Datuk Seri Anwar and Lajim, but they treated it as a small matter,” he said, referring to opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“It’s confirmed that Jeremy is out, and I will officially announce my decision to quit this weekend either in Kota Kinabalu or in my constituency of Matunggong… my resignation is expected, but I will be springing a surprise during my announcement,” he said, declining to give anything away.
Malajad is the second opposition assemblyman to go the way of a BN-friendly independent.
The first to do so was Luyang assemblyman and former Sabah DAP chief Dr Hiew King Cheu, who resigned as state party advisor after it was long speculated that he was going to leave the party.
