Sabah PKR refutes claim 75pc unhappy
Published on: Tuesday, April 23, 2019
By: Sherell Jeffrey
PENAMPANG: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sabah remains strong in both leadership and membership, said its Deputy Chairman Mustapha Sakmud.He said this in response to a group of former party leaders who claimed that 75 per cent of its members would leave the party and join other parties due to unsatisfactory current leadership.
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Among the former leaders were Datuk Karim Ghani, Nani Sakam and Adris Taripin, who is still a member of PKR Sabah and currently being scrutinised by the party’s State Disciplinary Action Committee for purportedly criticising party leaders on social media.
“Majority of Sabah PKR members remain loyal to President Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and support the leadership of PKR Sabah Chairperson Datuk Christina Liew,” Mustapha told a media conference at the PKR Sabah headquarters, here, Monday.
Mustapha said both Nani and Adris lost in the divisional elections held in Tenom and Sepanggar, respectively, thus their claim that 75 per cent of members will leave the party has no substance.
“What merit do they have to make such claim when even at the divisional level they failed to get the attention of members,” he said.
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“We believe the motive, among others, is to create a negative perception towards the State Government which will soon celebrate its first anniversary after toppling the previous administration last year.”
Mustapha, however, said the PKR Sabah leadership admitted that there is an imbalance in the distribution of political appointments both at State and Federal level.
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He said expectations for members’ contributions after the party helped to form the state an
d federal governments were the basis of them being dissatisfied.
“We hope members will be patient as the party leaders are still learning and will eventually take advantage of the space as government of the day,” he said.
He said the transitional process from opposition to the governing party needs time as they move towards stability.
He hoped leaders and members will use the right channel in addressing complaints, saying the party’s discipline cannot be sacrificed because it will ultimately lead to bad image and erode public confidence in their governance.
Meanwhile, Sabah PKR Vice Chairman Mohd Amin Abdul Mem said the party continued to receive new membership applications of between 500 and 1,000 each week.
He said the current membership stands at 150,000, but noted that the figure could easily reach more than 160,000 due to the growing number of applications.
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