KOTA KINABALU: The restless warrior from Beaufort seems not happy to play second fiddle.
Just a week after being ‘appointed’ opposition chief in the Sabah State Assembly, Datuk Lajim Haji Ukin is said to be targeting the Sabah PKR leadership currently held by Ahmad Thamrin.
Sources close to the Klias lawmaker told the Borneo Insider Lajim has begun making his moves to strengthen his position in Sabah PKR with his underlings making the necessary contacts.
Already, it is said that as of to-date 19 out of the 25 divisions in the state have given their endorsement for Lajim to take over the leadership.
According to our source, a senior Sabah PKR leader who spoke on the condition of anonymity, this might take place sometime next week when a few more divisions and their heads confirm their backing for Lajim.
“We believe that Thamrin’s days are numbered,” said the source. “Even Thamrin knows that he is just warming the seat and when Lajim (and Wilfred Bumburing) crossed over to the other side, it was only a matter of time.
“But what is most interesting to see is whether the PKR leadership in Kuala Lumpur, under defector chief, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will give his blessings or not.
“It will be a severe test of his leadership as well as to the numerous promises he has made to Sabah leaders, one of them being that they will get the chance to choose the leader of their choice.
“Right now Thamrin is a KL-appointee. He does not have the full back of all the other division chiefs”.
[While Lajim said he would leave his NGO, the PPPS, which he helmed to continue his political platform after ditching UMNO last year, and apply to join PKR with his members, Wilfred, who contested and won Tamparuli on a PKR ticket, will not be doing so].
It is also believed that a KadazanDusun Murut leader from Papar has been slated as Lajim’s Number 2 should he get the vote from the divisions.
The Borneo Insider understands that the unhappiness over Thamrin’s leadership has been gathering steam, much so after the May 5 general election.
The sources we spoke to say Thamrin cold either step down and safe face or suffer the ignominy of being ‘ousted’, most likely by way of a ‘vote of no confidence’.
It was said the main reason which prompted the imminent ‘mutiny’ was mainly due to Thamrin’s lame leadership and poor performance since his appointment in October 2009.
“He (Thamrin) has no leadership quality. He’s only good for ‘fund-raising’, besides being a ‘Yes Man’. To put it bluntly, he’s just someone’s puppet. We just don’t see any hope for PKR Sabah to progress further under his leadership,” the sources said.
“But, we are confident that Lajim would be a more capable leader. In fact, this has been confirmed by virtue of his appointment as the Sabah opposition leader in the State Legislative Assembly, recently,” said a Sabah PKR divisional chief.
He further noted that Thamrin’s losing of the Gum-Gum state seat which he contested for in the last general election had also rendered him losing his mandate to lead Sabah PKR.
Polling 3,191 votes, Thamrin lost to Datuk ZakariaB.Mohd Edris of Barisan Nasional (BN) who polled 5,548 votes.
Besides this, the senior Sabah PKR leader also faulted Anwar for the fielding the wrong candidates in the last general elections, claiming that otherwise the party could have won more seats in Sabah.
He cited among the bad choices of candidates included Tan Sri Ibrahim Menudin who lost both the Labuan parliamentary and Bongawan state seats which he contested, and Datuk Mohammad Yahaya Lampong who lost the fight for Papar parliamentary seat, as well as an unknown figure, Fred Gabriel in the Pantai Manis state constituency.
“The fielding of some new faces from the PPPS and APS (Angkatan Perubahan Sabah) in replacement of those senior Sabah PKR leaders like Hj Ansari (former PKR Tuaran Chief) who had been working hard on the ground all these while, was another key contributing factor of the poor election result,” he added.
It is not known however how senior PKR Sabah leaders like Dr Roland Chia (Inanam) and Christina Liew (Api Api) as well as deputy secretary general, Darell Leiking (Penampang) would react to Lajim’s anticipated leadership.
By Jonathan Jay Ethan
KOTA KINABALU: A leadership crisis is allegedly brewing in Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sabah, a report said yesterday
ReplyDeleteThe Borneo Insider claimed that there is a strong possibility that the present state PKR liaison chief, Ahmad Thamrin Jaini, could be on the way out and said that the likely candidate to replace him is Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin.
Lajim, who had joined PKR before the 13th general election, contested and won in the Klias state assembly seat. He is currently president of Pertubuhan Pakatan Perubahan Sabah (PPPS), an NGO.
ReplyDeleteThe Borneo Insider report quoted its source as a ‘senior Sabah PKR leader’ who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The source claimed that if Thamrin were to be ousted, the move might take place sometime next week when more divisions give their endorsement to such a move. It was said that as of to date 19 out of the 25 divisions in the state have given their endorsement.
The portal’s article claimed that the main reason which prompted the imminent ‘mutiny’ was mainly due to Thamrin’s lame leadership and poor performance since his appointment in October 2009.
ReplyDelete“We just don’t see any hope for PKR Sabah to progress further under his leadership. But we are confident that Lajim would be a more capable leader. In fact, this has been confirmed by virtue of his appointment as the Sabah opposition leader in the State Legislative Assembly, recently,” said the senior Sabah PKR leader who himself is a Sabah PKR divisional chief.
He pointed out further that Thamrin’s defeat for the Gum-Gum state seat that he contested in the last general election had in effect rendered him as having lost his mandate to lead Sabah PKR. Polling 3,191 votes, Thamrin lost to Datuk Zakaria B.Mohd Edris of Barisan Nasional (BN) who polled 5,548 votes.
ReplyDelete“It’s still not too late for him (Thamrin) to save the embarrassment of being ousted, if he steps down gracefully now,” he added.
Besides this, the senior Sabah PKR leader also faulted PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for the fielding wrong candidates in the last general elections, claiming that otherwise the party could have won more seats in Sabah.
He cited among the bad choices of candidates included Tan Sri Ibrahim Menudin who lost both the Labuan parliamentary and Bongawan state seats which he contested; Datuk Mohammad Yahya Lampong, who lost his Papar parliamentary seat, and an unknown figure, Fred B. Gabriel in the Pantai Manis state constituency.
ReplyDelete“The fielding of some new faces from the PPPS and APS (Angkatan Perubahan Sabah) to replace those senior Sabah PKR leaders like Hj Ansari (former PKR Tuaran Chief) who had been working hard on the ground all these while, was another key contributing factor for the poor election results,” he added.
Lajim, when contacted to confirm the report, declined to comment and said issues like that must be left to the party’s leadership to decide.
Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) dijangka mendakwa seorang pegawai kanan Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) dan pengurus sebuah syarikat berhubung kes rasuah melibatkan urusan menyediakan perkhidmatan kenderaan ketika PRU13, hari ini.
ReplyDeleteMenurut sumber, perbuatan itu dipercayai turut melibatkan seorang pengurus operasi sebuah syarikat swasta yang bertindak sebagai ‘orang tengah’.
ReplyDeletePengurus itu dikatakan memperkenalkan ahli perniagaanterbabit dengan pegawai kanan SPRM. “Ini melibatkan urusan perkhidmatan membekal kenderaan ketika pilihan raya,
ReplyDeleteDifahamkan perbuatan meminta rasuah tersebut kononnya sebagai upah kerana telah membantu syarikat sewa kenderaan dan pelancongan yang dimiliki oleh ahli perniagaan itu dilantik sebagai pembekal kenderaan bagi kegunaan pemerhati asing semasa PRU13. Pengurus operasi tersebut meyakinkan ahli perniagaan itu bahawa syarikat beliau akan memperolehi tender pembekalan berkenaan dan RM300,000 perlu disediakan sebagai wang sogokan.
ReplyDeleteKesalahan itu didakwa berlaku penghujung tahun lalu. Kedua-duanya ditangkap dalam satu operasi perangkap di ibu kota dan mereka dijangka didakwa mengikut Seksyen 16 (a)(A) ASPRM 2009 dan Seksyen 34 Kanun Keseksaan yang boleh membawa hukuman penjara sehingga 20 tahun dan lima kali ganda nilai suapan jika sabit kesalahan.
ReplyDelete