Sabah PKR agrees to contest half of expected seats

SABAH POLLS | After unrest at Warisan Plus candidate announcement this morning, Sabah PKR said it has reached a consensus with Warisan to contest in only seven seats in the coming state election.

The seats are Matunggong, Tempasuk, Tamparuli, Inanam, Api Api, Klias and Sook, as announced by Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal this morning.

“We are pleased to join forces with Warisan, DAP, Upko and Amanah in ensuring that we remain a strategic, stable and cohesive unit in defending the will and mandate of the people.

“Although the decision at this stage is to use our own PKR logo, we hope the voters of Sabah will continue to give their support to this alliance.

“We hold fast to the trust and cooperation that already exist within all the component parties of this alliance, and we support the leadership of Mohd Shafie Apdal to lead this state to victory,” said Sabah PKR chief Christina Liew in a statement today.

She said the decision has been endorsed by the party’s president Anwar Ibrahim and secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution.

Yesterday, PKR had unilaterally announced that it will be fielding its candidates in 14 seats.

These are the newly-created seats of Segama, Limbahau, Pintasan, and Sungai Manila as well as the existing seats of Klias, Sook, Kemabong, Membakut, Petagas, Api-Api, Inanam, Tempasuk, Tamparuli, and Matunggong.

When Shafie formally unveiled the candidate list for Warisan and its allies at the International Convention Centre in Kota Kinabalu, however, it showed PKR contesting in only seven seats.

A group of PKR representatives were seen leaving the hall as they engaged in hushed conversations with Liew, but she declined to comment when approached by journalists and claimed she was heading to the toilet.

Other PKR representatives insisted “no press”.

She and other representatives later returned to the hall, but Liew was absent when election candidates were called to the stage for a photo op.

In a separate statement earlier, Sabah PKR Youth information chief Razeef Rakimin had accused Warisan of betrayal over the seat distribution and warned it could lead to protest votes. - Mkini