Sabah PKR chief quits party to join Umno

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 — Newly-appointed Sabah PKR chief Pajudin Nordin resigned from the party today and announced his intention to join Umno.

The unpopular Tuaran division vice-chief made the announcement in Kota Kinabalu with Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.

Since his appointment on January 10, Pajudin has been facing fierce opposition from other Sabah division chiefs who disagreed with his selection.

“I have lost confidence in the leadership of PKR,” he said when announcing his resignation.

Pajudin also said he was disappointed with the party’s leadership for not backing up his appointment, saying that Kuala Lumpur has been unable to handle objections from certain local leaders.

Late last month, 18 of the state’s 25 division leaders demanded the intervention of the central leadership to reconsider Pajudin’s appointment.

Pajudin also failed to convene the state committee meeting one week after his appointment after division leaders were caught in verbal argument, causing the meeting to be disrupted.

“This is shocking. I have never expected him to leave,” said Tenom PKR chief Datuk Halik Zaman.

PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is currently in Sabah to attempt to resolve the state leadership crisis.

The Sabah PKR has never won a seat in the state and has been in turmoil for years largely because of the existence of three major factions that have been seeking to dominate the state leadership.

A faction led by Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan has left the party to form the United Borneo Front. Kitingan has been influential in opposing the appointment of party deputy president Azmin Ali as the Sabah PKR chief in 2009.

Azmin was later replaced by local leader Ahmad Thamrin Jaini who leads another faction.

Pajudin, who was initially not on the list of potential candidates to lead Sabah PKR, was seen as a proxy of a leader of another faction, Ansari Abdullah, who heads the PKR Tuaran division.

Ansari was the Sabah PKR chief before the appointment of Azmin as the state chairman. Party de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had also held the post of Sabah PKR chief in an attempt to bring the different factions together. - Malaysian Insider