GE13: PKR infighting, leaders quit

5 division chiefs quit; another chief plays ‘sabo’ while 1,500 members set to leave Beaufort division anytime

KOTA KINABALU: The Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) general election machinery in Sabah is in shambles as four division chiefs and a deputy division head have quit the party to join Umno.

Elsewhere, another division chief has been accused of political sabotage as he carries out a running verbal attack with the PKR-APS candidate.

And in Beaufort, some 1,500 PKR members are expect to follow suit of the their former PKR Beaufort division head Abdul Jarih @ Ramli Ukin, any day now.

PKR de facto chief, Datuk Anwar Ibrahim is expected in Sabah over the weekend to campaign for PR candidates but it looks like he will be forced to spend a lot of time appeasing disgruntled PKR members and picking up the pieces, said a former leader.

Those who quit Thursday are Sandakan PKR division head Mazhry Nasir; Kota Belud PKR division

head Saidil Simoi; Kalabakan PKR division head Irianshah Yunus; Putatan PKR division acting chief Abdul Zainal Atin; and, Batu Sapi PKR division deputy chief Zainuddin Hassan.

They announced their resignations as heads and deputy head of their respective divisions in a press conference at the Umno Building and were welcomed by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Yahya Hussin, and state Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan.

Saidil contested in the Kota Belud parliamentary constituency on PKR’s ticket in 2008 and is on the state leadership council.

The former PKR Kota Belud chief who is also Sabah Buku Jingga director however said that he now realizes that PKR and Anwar have been giving false and empty promises to the people in Sabah.

“I went along with it, I went around the whole state with PKR’s struggles and speaking to the people about autonomy but I was lying to the people and I said to myself, do I want to continue with the farce?

“Do I want to continue fighting for a party that is named Parti Keadilan but is actually not practicing juctice? I feel guilty because it is not just about lying to myself… I am lying to the rakyat,” Saidil said.

Anwar, according to him is a very charismatic speaker who can influence a person’s thinking with his words.

“That is Anwar. But let me explain, Anwar has a personal agenda, I did not realize this until the last moment when I saw just how empty PKR’s struggles are,” he said.

Anwar, he claimed was acting on his vindictive feelings and his desire to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia and is a cosmetic leader who functions on a platform of lies.

“So today, I am determined to correct a wrong and make up for lying to the people in Sabah especially Kota Belud. I was also the State Buku Jingga director and was responsible to analyze in detail what it promises.

According to Mazhry, their decision to call it quits, was made after taking into consideration what has and is happening in the party’s state and well as central leadership.

Mazhry who was also Sabah PKR’s deputy Election Chief said that they were not induced or coerced by anyone from both the BN or opposition.

“Our decision was made without any inducement from anyone; we have lost confidence in Anwar and PKR president Datin Seri Wan Azizah’s leadership.

“I have been in PKR since 1999 and I made the decision to leave the party because of unavoidable reasons,” he said.

Mazhry said that to him, PKR Sabah is no longer relevant to what the people in Sabah want because all decisions are made by the central leadership without any consultation with the state leaders.

“We were not informed of any discussions among which was the inclusion of APS and PPPS into Pakatan rakyat Sabah. We were just informed of the matter at the last minute.

“During a meeting in Sandakan, we asked Anwar about this and he said not to worry because APS and PPPS will only be allocated the Tuaran and Beaufort parliamentary seats.

“But in the end APS and PPPS seems to be in control of PKR Sabah’s politics and that is why to me, PKR Sabah is no longer suitable for Sabah.

‘Anwar should bring the party out of Sabah and not use the Bumiputera leadership here as a means for his political ambitions,” he stressed.

Mazhry also clarified that all those who left PKR were never ‘bought’ but instead resigned from the party because of their principles and what they feel is good for the state.

By Alexander Chen and Samantha Rae