Liew reshuffles state PKR leadership council as 16 chiefs want her replaced

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah PKR chief Datuk Christina Liew has reshuffled the party's state leadership council to stave off a fresh revolt against her.

Sabah PKR secretary Mustapha Sakmud said that the party's leadership council had put in place a restructure to prepare for the 15th General Election (GE15) amid a call to replace Liew by 16 division heads who boycotted the Saturday (Jan 8) meeting.

He said that those who are dissatisfied with the internal management of the party and the leadership use the right channels in voicing their protests and avoid using the media.

"The council meeting also decided that the party leadership should be big-hearted by opening room for discussions to finding solutions in the interest of the party," he said in a statement Sunday (Jan 9).

"We would also like to remind the division heads who boycotted the state council meeting were actually disrespecting the president (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) who had already consulted with all the division heads on Sept 8, 2021," added Mustapha.

He said that the state PKR has been advised to maintain the chairman of state until the next party election and their main focus should be on preparing for GE15.

Mustapha said that the Sabah PKR council also gave their full backing to Liew, who is Tawau MP and Api Api assemblyman, to continue to lead the state party and push her agenda under the 2022 Strategic Plan themed “Together We Make It Happen”.

Under the restructure, Putatan MP Husaini Sahari will be deputy chairman, Inanam assemblyman Peto Galim will be vice-chairman 1, with Datuk John Ghani (VP2) and Abdul Razak Jamil (VP 3) while nine others would head various committees and be members of the council.

Mustapha said that the restructuring was in accordance with the party constitution as they had sufficient quorum for the meeting even without the presence of division heads who boycotted the hybrid meeting - physical and virtual attendance.

He said the PKR president had also been informed of the changes.

Since late December, Liew, the former Sabah deputy chief minister, has been facing calls for her to be replaced. She has held on as the Sabah PKR chief amidst similar attempts previously.