Azmin: I will leave when the time is right

PKR vice-president Azmin Ali today urged all the party's Sabah division chiefs to stop demanding that he be removed from his position until everything is organised in the state.

He said this in response to a group of PKR division chiefs who have, as earlier reported, expressed no confidence in his leadership as appointed state chief, succeeding de-facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

It was reported that the 16 PKR division chiefs met informally last night at an undisclosed location in Kota Kinabalu to discuss their dissatisfaction with Azmin.

Not only do they want Azmin (left) out of his appointed position with immediate effect, they also recommended that no one from outside Sabah should be picked to head the PKR chapter in the state ever again.

But Azmin said it was not his choice to be appointed as the state chief as he was merely adhering to the party's Supreme Council's decision, which asked him to take over the post from Anwar, who is also the opposition leader.

"My appointment is on an interim basis. I'm not there as the state chief forever. Even during my first meeting in Sabah I conveyed this message to the division leaders that I'm there on a temporary basis," he told Malaysiakini.

Azmin also dismissed claims that he failed to turn up for the informal meeting last night despite being informed through a mobile text message.

Not aware of meeting

According to him, he did not receive any text messages regarding any meeting.

"I'm not aware of the meeting, neither was I informed. It is not true that I was sent a text message and failed to turn up," he said.

Describing it as a non-issue, Azmin said there should be no problems in him being the state chief as he would eventually hand over power to a Sabahan leader.

"I was appointed as an interim state chief to get things organised and to strengthen the division. Within a short period of time, I will hand over this responsibility to another leader from Sabah," he said.

Azmin, who is also Gombak MP and Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyperson, however said that the division leaders should not have made such demands in the first place as it was a known understanding decided at the Supreme Council level.

To a question as to when things would be organised so he could hand over his power, Azmin replied: "The sooner the better".

"The party will appoint a new leader in Sabah and I would be more than happy to relinquish power and cooperate with a new team there. That was the understanding all along," he added.