Salleh welcomed in PKR if he is sincere, says Sabah party chief

Former Umno leader Salleh Said Keruak applied to join PKR online in August.

KOTA KINABALU: Former Umno stalwart Salleh Said Keruak, who has applied to join PKR, is welcomed in the party if he is willing to forego his Umno principles, said Sabah PKR chairman Christina Liew.

“We welcome anyone who wants to join the party so long as they are sincere and genuine in wanting to fight for justice, equality and reforms, which form the principles of ‘reformasi’.

“This is not an issue of whether we (Sabah PKR) are willing to accept or reject. It depends on whether he or she is sincere in continuing the struggle which we have carried out over the last 21 years,” Liew said at a press conference at the party’s office near Penampang today.

Salleh applied to join the party online in August.

There has been talk that PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, who is expected to be present at the Sabah PKR convention here on Monday, will induct Salleh into the party.

Liew said she had not heard about this but pointed out that the party’s political bureau had decided to look into Salleh’s application at a meeting held in Kuala Lumpur last week.

Salleh’s online membership application, with “approved” status along with a membership ID number registered on Aug 25, went viral on Oct 5. He left Umno in December last year during the exodus in Sabah Umno.

It has also been reported that he has not been accepted into PPBM, unlike the rest of those who had abandoned Umno along with him.

Asked if Sabah PKR members would react if Salleh was given a special position in the party later, Liew said “the state has its own leadership and I believe all positions have been filled”.

She said PKR was willing to accept former Umno members as “a lot of things have changed in the past 10 months” since Anwar said he refused to consider them as members.

“I remember in December, Anwar had issued a statement saying he will not consider (former Umno members). But that was then.

“I can tell you that anyone who is willing to forego their old principles and accept PKR’s principles will be considered,” she said. - FMT