Sabah PKR Wanita deputy chief Christina Liew has today joined vice-president Jeffrey Kitingan in quitting the party post, dealing yet another blow to the state opposition.

Liew, who is also PKR supreme council member and Kota Kinabalu division chief, has sent an SMS to party president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail stating her decision to resign.

NONE “Dear President, with a heavy heart, please be informed I shall tender my resignation from the supreme council effective tomorrow. I have always believed in fairness and transparency of the party until the appointment of Kong Hong Ming (as deputy state chief under Azmin Ali) and then (Ahmad) Thamrin (Jaini),” said Liew in her message.

“My mom had to take the public humiliation after I was replaced for some unknown reasons. I worked very hard in the last nine years to promote Sabah PKR. Since the party has disregarded my contribution, I will bow out with dignity.”

PKR leaders in Sabah have a long list of grouses, the latest being the appointment of Ahmad Thamrin Jaini as the party's state chief.

Liew, it is learnt, has been offered a place in the new Thamrin line-up which was scheduled to be announced today but may be put off to a later date. She has rejected the offer.

Jeffrey’s resignation expected

Meanwhile, Jeffrey’s resignation yesterday as vice-president comes as no surprise to anyone in the state who knows the man.

“Not to know Jeffrey is not to know the politics of Sabah,” said Liew, who is among those who backed Jeffrey as the new Sabah PKR state chief.

At the heart of the simmering crisis in PKR in Malaysian Borneo, according to those who agree with Liew, is not who Jeffrey is but what they want.

NONE Their message about the basic demands in Malaysian Borneo seems to have fallen on deaf ears at the PKR headquarters in Selangor. Similarly, it has fallen on deaf ears in Putrajaya, according to party members in the powerful KadazanDusunMurut Task Force (KDMTF), which claims to control 18 of the 25 of PKR divisions.

One plus point for PKR, and Pakatan Rakyat, is that the opposition alliance is new and, on paper, can be persuaded to accept the letter and spirit of the 1963 Agreement which promises to accord Sabah and Sarawak autonomy within the Malaysian Federation.

The agreement also promises that the federation would be an equal partnership of Malaya, Singapore (before it left two years later), Sabah and Sarawak.

By banking his hopes on PKR, it appears that Jeffrey has bitten off more than what he can chew. PKR continues to pay lip service to the idea of autonomy. Judging by events since the entry of the party into the state almost nine years ago, solutions continue to be imposed on the state from PKR headquarters.

The democratic choice of local leaders are ignored and the headquarters continues to rule by proxy in the state as in neighbouring Sarawak until Baru Bian was recently grudgingly appointed as the new state chief.

Prerogative powers

PKR president Wan Azizah claimed that she has prerogative powers under the party constitution to appoint the state chiefs.

It has been pointed out to her by the Sabahans that such powers are not absolute, taking into account the letter and spirit of the constitution, and moreover any such powers must be exercised wisely.

By the party president not taking heed of the wishes of the majority of the Sabah divisions to appoint Jeffrey as the state chief, she’s merely allowing for a repeat of the cycle of instability in the state.

Libaran division chief Thamrin, who has been appointed the new Sabah party chief, clearly does not represent the will of the majority if the fax from divisions chiefs to PKR headquarters last Sunday morning is anything to go by.

It is predicted that he will continue to face rebellion within the ranks until he too, like his jinxed predecessors, is overthrown. The division chiefs are the real power brokers in the state. Without them, nothing will move on the ground.

NONE Realising that Thamrin’s position was untenable, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim offered yesterday to let Jeffrey name the entire state leadership line-up on condition that the former was accepted as the state chief.

Apparently, according to Jeffrey, Anwar made the offer through former Sarawak PKR advisor Michael Bong, who was once vice-president of Sarawak National Party (Snap).

However, in a telephone call this morning, Bong strongly denied being an emissary for Anwar. Likewise, Liew claimed that Anwar sent messages to her through Bong.

The Sarawakian said he was in town last week to cover the visit of senior PKR activist Chua Jui Ming and took the opportunity to advise Liew to “keep cool. Anwar knows what he’s doing”. He denies the message was from Anwar.

“I have always said that the people of Sabah should be allowed to choose their own leaders,” swore Bong.

Sabah PKR chief’s post jinxed

In addition to his post as vice-president, Jeffrey has resigned as member of the supreme council and from the national political bureau. He however remains party member and Keningau division chief.

Based on Jeffrey’s comments in various media, a return to Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) led by his elder brother Joseph, a tie-up with the Sabah Peoples’ Progressive Party (Sapp) or even a new political party at this juncture, can be ruled out.

Ironically, Thamrin was one of the division chiefs aligned to Jeffrey before he defected and made common cause with Tuaran division chief Ansari Abdullah.

Ansari, an Anwar confidante, was the fourth state chief. He had to step down amidst a rebellion in the divisions against his “being a proxy for Anwar Ibrahim”.

The PKR advisor took over from Ansari for two months before handing over the mantle to Azmin Ali, the Gombak MP and state assemblyperson for Bukit Antarabangsa. Azmin soon ran into problems when the majority of the division chiefs alleged that he was virtually taking orders from Ansari.

The political situation in Sabah PKR will become clearer in the weeks ahead. Jeffrey is still on sabbatical leave until mid-January next year.

“I need to plan these things very carefully,” said Jeffrey. “We can’t rush it.”

Jeffrey hints at 2nd chance for PKR in Sabah