PKR Matunggong assemblyman quits party post, says he is not even a member

KOTA KINABALU - PKR’s Matunggong assemblyman Datuk Jelani Hamdan has taken one-step further away from the opposition party by quitting as its Sabah liaison committee vice chief.

In a twist to an ongoing spat with the PKR leadership, Jelani said he had never been a member of the party that he had applied to join in July 7, 2010.

He said he never received an official reply from the PKR about his membership application nor was he ever given a membership number.

On whether there was a need for him to resign from PKR, Jelani said: “How can I resign when I don’t know if I am really a member.”

Asked whether he should be a party member by virtue of winning the Matunggong state seat under the PKR ticket in the 13th general election, Jelani said his situation was similar to that of Datuk Wilfred Bumburing.

Bumburing, a former Upko deputy president and the ad hoc Angkatan Perubahan Sabah (APS) chief, won the Tamparuli state seat on the PKR ticket without being its member.

On his appointment as Sabah PKR vice chief, Jelani said: “They offered me the post and I accepted. They must have presumed I am a member. Today I am resigning from the post.”

He said his dissatisfaction with the PKR leadership stemmed from party advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s appointment of Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin as the Sabah state assembly opposition chief and state party leader.

“There was no consultation among the opposition assemblymen. Instead Lajim went around gathering signatures. This caused a lot of uneasiness among the opposition assemblymen until even the Assembly Speaker was initially confused about who the opposition chief was,” Jelani added.

On Lajim’s appointment as state PKR chief, Jelani said Anwar had called him to support the move on the basis of Lajim’s seniority.

“What seniority? Lajim joined PKR two days after the election? Surely there were other more established party leaders who could have led Sabah PKR committee,” he said.

Asked whether he was intending to join another political party, Jelani who was a founding member of Kota Marudu Umno, which he led as division and Youth chief in 2001, said he could not rule out the move.

He said a future option for him was also to form a new political party if he found this move to be necessary.