As Dr Jeffrey Kitingan leaves for Manchester, England tonight at the helm of the Malaysian contingent to the Commonwealth Games 2002, he is not likely to leave his political problems in Sabah behind.

Living up to his tag as Sabah's maverick politician, Jeffrey was talking more about politics and the internal problems in the Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) than about Malaysia's chances at the Games just before he departed Kota Kinabalu for Kuala Lumpur last Saturday.

This came a few hours after the Sabah Badminton Association (SBA) of which Jeffrey is president issued a statement describing his appointment as the Malaysian team manager a great "honour" for Sabah. The only thing related to the Games he mentioned in passing was to express his confidence that the Malaysian badminton team could contribute at least two gold medals to the nation's medal tally.

A journalist present at the airport press conference told malaysiakini that Jeffrey seemed very occupied with his affairs in the PBRS that evening.

"One question from a reporter about politics and he talks. So when other reporters followed up with more questions about politics, he continued responding and soon...the Commonwealth Games and sports were forgotten".

Among other things, Jeffery who is Bingkor state assemblyperson said he and his supporters are considering leaving PBRS en bloc to join another party.

"Based on the feedback from my supporters, I have analysed the political situation in PBRS and it is a waste of time remaining with the party because the problem confronting us does not contribute much to national development", the Daily Express , a Sabah daily quoted him as saying.

No solution yet

Jeffrey and incumbent PBRS president Joseph Kurup have been involved in a leadership tussle over the past few months with no solution in sight yet.

He said it was useless to delve on the problem for too long, as it could only create more confusion and anxiety among the people.

That Jeffrey would use the time in Manchester to do a lot of soul searching and come up with a final decision to resolve the PBRS impasse is without question.

"I will gather my supporters for a final decision upon my return from overseas. The next two weeks will give me sufficient time to think about my political future", he added.