Dr Wan Azizah said this after chairing a three-hour meeting of the state leadership council in Kota Kinabalu today.
“The leadership of PKR’s divisions in Sabah had reached a consensus with the central leadership council to set up an 11-member presidential council to lead PKR Sabah effective from today,” said Dr Wan Azizah in a statement issued after the meeting.
“This interim measure is put in place to bring about a concerted effort to focus PKR Sabah’s resources and work on setting up a fair agenda for the people of Sabah, in light of the expected 13th general election due to be called within months,” she added. Dr Wan Azizah, however, did not name the members of the council but said they would be announced soon.
“The functions and responsibilities of the presidential council are mapped to the issues that are of major importance to the people of Sabah and are partly designed to match the state Cabinet, in order to provide the focus and early training for our state leaders to press [for] accountability [from] the present state government and develop the skills and acumen necessary to bring about change in the state,” she continued.
“My focus in this interim period is to put in place the necessary organisational structure to allow PKR Sabah to function as a formidable champion of the people of Sabah,” said Dr Wan Azizah.
Sabah PKR chief Pajudin Nordin quit the party for Umno yesterday, citing loss of confidence in the party’s national leadership.
He had been appointed to the post on January 10, and was the latest to have taken up the hot seat over the past year.
Pajudin had been facing fierce opposition from other Sabah division chiefs who had disagreed with his selection.
Late last month, 18 of the state’s 25 division leaders demanded the intervention of the central leadership in reconsidering Pajudin’s appointment.
Pajudin also failed to successfully convene the state committee meeting one week after his appointment, when it was repeatedly disrupted by division leaders caught in verbal exchanges.
Sabah PKR has never won a seat in the state and has been in turmoil for years largely because of the existence of three major factions vying for the state leadership.
Today, Dr Wan Azizah promised an end to the protracted leadership crisis and said the presidential council would present the Sabah PKR election manifesto at its convention scheduled for the end of March.
She also said an organising secretariat would be formed to co-ordinate the party activities prior to the state convention.
“Thus, PKR Sabah’s focus shall be on the welfare of the people, with [a] two-prong approach of promoting new policies to eradicate poverty and improving the living standards of Sabahans, while keeping the present state government accountable to the public,” said the PKR president.
