Sabah PKR papers over 'cracks' with new line-up
Joe FernandezPublished: Aug 3, 2009 4:18 AM | Updated: Aug 3, 2009 10:02 AM
The Sabah Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) now boasts of a new 16-member team under its new chief Mohamed Azmin Ali who took over from party advisor Anwar Ibrahim less two months ago, it announced in Sandakan yesterday.
The Sabah Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) now boasts of a new 16-member team under its new chief Mohamed Azmin Ali who took over from party advisor Anwar Ibrahim less than two months ago, it was announced in Sandakan yesterday.
Azmin (right) is the Gombak MP and state assemblyperson for Bukit Antarabangsa.
*As chairman of the State Leadership Committee, Azmin will also head the powerful Political Bureau which at the moment has three other members from the national level: national vice-president Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan, Tuaran Division Chief and lawyer Ansari Abdullah and Kota Kinabalu lawyer Christina Liew, in the state line-up.
Kitingan is a Dusun from Tambunan and Ansari an Indian-Dusun/Bajau. The Political Bureau functions somewhat like a mini Supreme Council at the state level.
"Jeffrey will focus on land issues in Sabah together with Deputy President Syed Husin Ali who will tackle the issue at the national level," explained Azmin in dispelling fears that Kitingan has been eased out from the party mainstream at the state level along with Liew, a faction leader, and rival Ansari.
*"The party feels that Jeffrey, Ansari and Christina can play a more important role in the Political Bureau in view of their vast experience and good networking. They are also more needed at the national level."
Triumph by default
Liew will continue to head the Public Complaints Bureau within the Political Bureau. Liew was not present during the announcement of the new state line-up. She is reported to be overseas. Ansari's portfolio is still under discussion.
Azmin described the new state line-up as "a winning team this time for Sabah".
The soft-spoken trouble-shooter was subtly alluding to the state chapter's failure to forge a common electoral pact with other opposition parties in last year's General Election following intense bickering within the party and the state coalition.
He disclosed that Pakatan MPs may each "adopt" a parliamentary seat in Sabah "so that local issues can be brought up in Parliament". The proposal is still on the cards.
The Gombak MP gave an assurance that he will not head Sabah PKR for long and implied that his brief mandate was to take the party forward in Sabah until the formation of a one-to-one electoral pact for the next polls.
He declined to dwell on the electoral pact. However, party insiders insist that the electoral pact in Sabah will be forged at the national level unlike the last time when the Barisan Nasional (BN) won by default in the state, it is claimed, "because too many state-level players had their say on the electoral pact".
"If left to the state-level players, the electoral pact will not materialise because Sabah DAP will insist on contesting half the seats and SAPP may field candidates in all 60 seats," said the party insider who sees the new state line-up as also papering over the cracks in the opposition front in Sabah.
SAPP is not a member of the Pakatan Opposition Alliance although it pulled out from the BN on Sept 17 last year.
Kong the favourite
Briefly, the rest of the state line-up announced by Azmin has three deputies to assist him.
*The trio appointed as Deputy State Leadership Committee chair are: Green activist and lawyer Kong Hong Ming, 56, the Tawau Division Chief who sees himself as a member of the non-aligned bloc, the bulk of the estimated 50,000 membership; Johan Ghani, 62, a Dusun from Kuala Penyu who prefers to be known as John Ghani. He was expelled from Umno for life; and Hamzah Amir, 58, a Bugis who was formerly the Tawau Municipal Council President.
This composition puts Kong, recently in the news over allegations of sea coral mining in Tawau waters, as the clear favourite to succeed Azmin as Sabah PKR Chief.
Ex-Sabah Foundation official Ahmad Thamrin Jaini, a Bajau married to a Filipino, is Secretary with three deputies: Abdul Razak Jamil, salesman Jeffrey Yap and Adris Taripin.
Dr Roland Chia, 38, a Sino-Kadazan dentist who heads the Rafflesia Medical Centre, is the State Treasurer.
*Ranau lawyer Jonathan Yasin, a Dusun, is Information Chief while cyberspace will be the responsibility of blogger Ronnie Klassen, a Eurasian-Malacca Portuguese who has been appointed Director of Communications in an appointment which surprised him as well.
He started his blog exactly 10 weeks ago and has emerged as a controversial figure for going after the more prominent personalities in state politics
He was in the news several months ago for spearheading a signature campaign for Allah, along with Kitingan, among Christians and non-Christians alike.
Ability top consideration
The new state line-up has an advisory council with Yunof Maringking, a Dusun lawyer from Tuaran, and ex-Sabah PKR Secretary Awang Ahmad Sah Awang Sahari as the only members. I
It is not known whether more names would be added to the council line-up but ex-Political Bureau members, for one, may be headed there as they are put out to pasture.
Also not known is why anti-immigration activist Dr Chong Eng Leong, a specialist with the Sabah Medical Centre, was left out from the new state line-up.
He was not present in Sandakan and declined to comment on the new state line-up, saying that he "had not seen the list".
The speculation is that he may be named a member of the Political Bureau along with several others whose names are actively under consideration.
Ansari, who endorsed the new state line-up when it came to the final vote in Sandakan, declined to say whether he was happy or otherwise with the latest development.
"My stand was and is that whoever is the state chief must be given the liberty to pick his own team and be given the opportunity to perform," said Ansari.
"I am happy that all major ethnic groupings, age groups and geographical areas have been represented on the basis of their ability."
Hidden agendas and conspiracies
"Even more important there is new blood which will carry the party forward and allow the veterans and seniors to take a back seat and guide the younger ones."
Kitingan (left), his nemesis in the party and considered a political warlord like him, conceded that he expected some changes but expressed surprise at the extent of the changes.
"I had expected some changes but not the way it was done," said Kitingan upon his return from Sandakan where, like the others, he gave his consent to the new state line-up.
One particular complaint from Kitingan over the last two months was that "Azmin is not as neutral as he pretends to be".
Hidden agendas and conspiracy theories have always been a favourite theme with the Kitingan camp.
It is not known whether such complaints will be just so much water under the bridge in future as the party braces itself for elections in May next year when all Divisional Chiefs will be fighting for their political lives.
It was the topic of neutrality that led to the dissolution of the state line-up late last year and Anwar Ibrahim himself helming the Sabah PKR.
Sentimental Anwar Ibrahim
Ansari was then the State Chief and Kitingan in the curious position of being his deputy although the latter outranked the former in the central leadership committee as national vice-president. Ansari was just an ordinary member along with Liew.
Anwar, according to those in the know, gave up his Sabah post because he didn't want to risk his popularity in the state by making the tough decisions necessary to carry the party forward.
"Anwar is no longer the cold, efficient and ruthless leader on the rise that he once was," said a party veteran who requested anonymity.
"As he gets older, he has become somewhat more and more sentimental. He doesn't want to hurt friends, old and new, just because of politics.
This is where Azmin came in and he went away quietly. I will not be surprised if Anwar fades away from the national scene as well. He has readied himself for this with the recent constitutional changes."
"In any case, Anwar is very busy on the national front with so many court cases, especially the pending sodomy charges against him. He can't really devote the time needed to Sabah as much as he loves the place."
The next Sabah PKR Leadership Committee meeting is scheduled to be held in the Tawau Division in a month's time.
Kong will play host. Anwar is also expected to visit Sabah soon but no date has been set.
High on the agenda is a proposal for each of the four Pakatan-ruled state governments to appoint political secretaries, unknowns, from Sabah and Sarawak respectively "and groom them to be political somebodies".
Azmin (right) is the Gombak MP and state assemblyperson for Bukit Antarabangsa.*As chairman of the State Leadership Committee, Azmin will also head the powerful Political Bureau which at the moment has three other members from the national level: national vice-president Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan, Tuaran Division Chief and lawyer Ansari Abdullah and Kota Kinabalu lawyer Christina Liew, in the state line-up.
Kitingan is a Dusun from Tambunan and Ansari an Indian-Dusun/Bajau. The Political Bureau functions somewhat like a mini Supreme Council at the state level.
"Jeffrey will focus on land issues in Sabah together with Deputy President Syed Husin Ali who will tackle the issue at the national level," explained Azmin in dispelling fears that Kitingan has been eased out from the party mainstream at the state level along with Liew, a faction leader, and rival Ansari.
*"The party feels that Jeffrey, Ansari and Christina can play a more important role in the Political Bureau in view of their vast experience and good networking. They are also more needed at the national level."
Triumph by default
Liew will continue to head the Public Complaints Bureau within the Political Bureau. Liew was not present during the announcement of the new state line-up. She is reported to be overseas. Ansari's portfolio is still under discussion.
Azmin described the new state line-up as "a winning team this time for Sabah".
The soft-spoken trouble-shooter was subtly alluding to the state chapter's failure to forge a common electoral pact with other opposition parties in last year's General Election following intense bickering within the party and the state coalition.
He disclosed that Pakatan MPs may each "adopt" a parliamentary seat in Sabah "so that local issues can be brought up in Parliament". The proposal is still on the cards.
The Gombak MP gave an assurance that he will not head Sabah PKR for long and implied that his brief mandate was to take the party forward in Sabah until the formation of a one-to-one electoral pact for the next polls.
He declined to dwell on the electoral pact. However, party insiders insist that the electoral pact in Sabah will be forged at the national level unlike the last time when the Barisan Nasional (BN) won by default in the state, it is claimed, "because too many state-level players had their say on the electoral pact"."If left to the state-level players, the electoral pact will not materialise because Sabah DAP will insist on contesting half the seats and SAPP may field candidates in all 60 seats," said the party insider who sees the new state line-up as also papering over the cracks in the opposition front in Sabah.
SAPP is not a member of the Pakatan Opposition Alliance although it pulled out from the BN on Sept 17 last year.
Kong the favourite
Briefly, the rest of the state line-up announced by Azmin has three deputies to assist him.
*The trio appointed as Deputy State Leadership Committee chair are: Green activist and lawyer Kong Hong Ming, 56, the Tawau Division Chief who sees himself as a member of the non-aligned bloc, the bulk of the estimated 50,000 membership; Johan Ghani, 62, a Dusun from Kuala Penyu who prefers to be known as John Ghani. He was expelled from Umno for life; and Hamzah Amir, 58, a Bugis who was formerly the Tawau Municipal Council President.
This composition puts Kong, recently in the news over allegations of sea coral mining in Tawau waters, as the clear favourite to succeed Azmin as Sabah PKR Chief.
Ex-Sabah Foundation official Ahmad Thamrin Jaini, a Bajau married to a Filipino, is Secretary with three deputies: Abdul Razak Jamil, salesman Jeffrey Yap and Adris Taripin.
Dr Roland Chia, 38, a Sino-Kadazan dentist who heads the Rafflesia Medical Centre, is the State Treasurer.
*Ranau lawyer Jonathan Yasin, a Dusun, is Information Chief while cyberspace will be the responsibility of blogger Ronnie Klassen, a Eurasian-Malacca Portuguese who has been appointed Director of Communications in an appointment which surprised him as well.
He started his blog exactly 10 weeks ago and has emerged as a controversial figure for going after the more prominent personalities in state politics
He was in the news several months ago for spearheading a signature campaign for Allah, along with Kitingan, among Christians and non-Christians alike.
Ability top consideration
The new state line-up has an advisory council with Yunof Maringking, a Dusun lawyer from Tuaran, and ex-Sabah PKR Secretary Awang Ahmad Sah Awang Sahari as the only members. I
It is not known whether more names would be added to the council line-up but ex-Political Bureau members, for one, may be headed there as they are put out to pasture.
Also not known is why anti-immigration activist Dr Chong Eng Leong, a specialist with the Sabah Medical Centre, was left out from the new state line-up.
He was not present in Sandakan and declined to comment on the new state line-up, saying that he "had not seen the list".
The speculation is that he may be named a member of the Political Bureau along with several others whose names are actively under consideration.
Ansari, who endorsed the new state line-up when it came to the final vote in Sandakan, declined to say whether he was happy or otherwise with the latest development.
"My stand was and is that whoever is the state chief must be given the liberty to pick his own team and be given the opportunity to perform," said Ansari.
"I am happy that all major ethnic groupings, age groups and geographical areas have been represented on the basis of their ability."
Hidden agendas and conspiracies
"Even more important there is new blood which will carry the party forward and allow the veterans and seniors to take a back seat and guide the younger ones."
Kitingan (left), his nemesis in the party and considered a political warlord like him, conceded that he expected some changes but expressed surprise at the extent of the changes."I had expected some changes but not the way it was done," said Kitingan upon his return from Sandakan where, like the others, he gave his consent to the new state line-up.
One particular complaint from Kitingan over the last two months was that "Azmin is not as neutral as he pretends to be".
Hidden agendas and conspiracy theories have always been a favourite theme with the Kitingan camp.
It is not known whether such complaints will be just so much water under the bridge in future as the party braces itself for elections in May next year when all Divisional Chiefs will be fighting for their political lives.
It was the topic of neutrality that led to the dissolution of the state line-up late last year and Anwar Ibrahim himself helming the Sabah PKR.
Sentimental Anwar Ibrahim
Ansari was then the State Chief and Kitingan in the curious position of being his deputy although the latter outranked the former in the central leadership committee as national vice-president. Ansari was just an ordinary member along with Liew.
Anwar, according to those in the know, gave up his Sabah post because he didn't want to risk his popularity in the state by making the tough decisions necessary to carry the party forward."Anwar is no longer the cold, efficient and ruthless leader on the rise that he once was," said a party veteran who requested anonymity.
"As he gets older, he has become somewhat more and more sentimental. He doesn't want to hurt friends, old and new, just because of politics.
This is where Azmin came in and he went away quietly. I will not be surprised if Anwar fades away from the national scene as well. He has readied himself for this with the recent constitutional changes."
"In any case, Anwar is very busy on the national front with so many court cases, especially the pending sodomy charges against him. He can't really devote the time needed to Sabah as much as he loves the place."
The next Sabah PKR Leadership Committee meeting is scheduled to be held in the Tawau Division in a month's time.
Kong will play host. Anwar is also expected to visit Sabah soon but no date has been set.
High on the agenda is a proposal for each of the four Pakatan-ruled state governments to appoint political secretaries, unknowns, from Sabah and Sarawak respectively "and groom them to be political somebodies".
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