11 leaders in Sabah quit PKR
(Borneo Post) – Eleven Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) leaders in Sabah quit the party yesterday and expressed support for the Barisan Nasional (BN).
They comprise division heads, division deputy heads and division information chiefs from Kudat, Kota Marudu, Kota Belud, Sepanggar, Pensiangan, Beluran, Kinabatangan, Batu Sapi, Silam, Kalabakan and Semporna.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told a media conference here that they had lost confidence in the PKR leadership.
He said this was the first wave of PKR leaders quitting the party in Sabah and that more would be following in their footsteps soon.
“With what has happened and is going to happen, it means that PKR in Sabah is about finished and the BN is getting stronger and continues to gain the trust of Sabahans,” he said.
The PKR leaders present at the media conference were Akhmain Sabtu (Kudat division chief), Anthony Mandiau (Kota Marudu division chief), Juhani Abd Halim (Silam division chief), Mohd Jun (Kalabakan division chief), Mustapha Tambuyung (Kinabatangan division chief), Lokman Ureh (Semporna division chief), Timothy Lim (Sepanggar division chief), Apandy Sipin (Pensiangan division) and Aris Remigius (Batu Sapi division chief), Angki Addek (Kota Marudu deputy division chief) and Soloh Yuna (Kota Belud Information chief).
The Beluran representative, however, did not attend.
Also present were two Sabah PKR assemblymen who had quit the party on Nov 4, namely Matunggong assemblyman Datuk Jelani Hamdan and Kedamaian assemblyman Jeremy Malajad.
Najib said also joining the other leaders in quitting PKR today were former Bandau Member of Parliament Henry Madatang and the party’s candidate for the Papar parliamentary seat in the 13th general election, Jomi Kamadan.
He said that he was also informed that many from among their supporters would also leave PKR and support BN.
“I wish to thank them for their confidence in shifting their support to the BN and this reflects that our effort to make changes and transformation to the nation, specifically Sabah, has gained their trust and confidence.
“Hopefully, with this, BN will be able to serve the people of Sabah more effectively,” he said.
Najib also denied claims that the BN had influenced the leaders to quit PKR.
“Not possible, it is because they have lost faith in the party, that is the bottomline,” he said.
He added that PKR would try to regroup in Sabah but the real strength of the party actually lay in the leaders who quit today and the others who would be leaving.
