Anthony (seated fourth from right) with the KDM leadership after the EGM on Tuesday (Dec 19).
KOTA KINABALU: Embattled Sabah politician Datuk Peter Anthony has retained his presidency of Parti KDM after getting a full endorsement from its leadership to continue leading the native-based party.
The party held an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) here on Tuesday (Dec 19) and agreed that Anthony, who was challenging a court conviction for a charge of forging a document for the purpose of cheating, to remain in the hot seat, with an eye on the upcoming state elections.
Speaking after attaining the party’s unanimous support, he said his focus was completely on the state elections which could be called earlier than scheduled in October 2025.
He said he was confident of KDM’s chances in the polls, especially in areas with a majority of Kadazan, Dusun and Murut voters, due to the combination of new and old leaders, including his deputy Datuk Wetrom Bahanda.
"I hope the newly appointed KDM leadership will focus on the state polls which could be held soon, maybe next year we don’t know but what is important we must be fully ready," said the Melalap assemblyman.
Anthony believed that KDM would be able to give other parties, which were also considered strong in native-based seats, a run for their money.
"In tandem with this, it is important that we prepare ourselves from now on, turun padang (go down to the ground) and meet with the grassroots," he added.
He said KDM’s strength was beginning to show especially in rural areas such as the interior Tenom and northern Kota Marudu districts.
"We all saw for ourselves how our deputy president (Wetrom) defeated the Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president there (in the 15th General Election).
"I'm confident our strengths will be seen in other areas also in the Sabah polls," said the former state infrastructure development minister.
Anthony had tried contesting the Tenom parliamentary seat in GE15 but the Election Commission (EC) rejected his nomination papers on nomination day on the grounds that he still had a pending court case.
Anthony had filed an appeal against the decision of the Kuala Lumpur High Court which upheld his conviction and prison sentence and fine for forging letters in relation to the Mechanical and Electrical System (M&E) maintenance and service contract at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), nine years ago.
He filed the notice on April 19 through Messrs. Deva & Associates.
This was his last appeal as the case started in the Sessions Court and would end in the Court of Appeal.
According to the notice of appeal, Anthony was dissatisfied with the ruling by High Court Judge Ahmad Bache who upheld the conviction and sentence of three years imprisonment and a fine of RM50,000 or 15 months' jail term if he failed to pay the fine imposed by Sessions Court Judge Azura Alwi.
On April 18, the High Court dismissed Anthony’s appeal to set aside the conviction and sentence imposed by the Sessions Court on May 26 last year after agreeing with the judge's finding that the appellant falsified documents, despite knowing that the project was made through an open tender.
In June last year, Anthony filed an appeal at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur against the prison sentence and fine imposed by Judge Azura after finding him guilty of the charges.
Anthony, as the managing director of Syarikat Asli Jati Sdn Bhd, was charged with falsifying a letter from the office of UMS deputy vice-chancellor dated June 9, 2014, which included false statements with the intention to deceive.
The offence committed in the office of the principal private secretary to the prime minister at Perdana Putra building, Putrajaya between June 13 and Aug 21, 2014, was framed under Section 468 of the Penal Code which provides for a maximum prison sentence of seven years and a fine.
He has paid the RM50,000 fine.
His appeal was supposed to be up for case management at the Court of Appeal on July 28.
Earlier, KDM information chief Dr Oswald Aisat Igau said the party’s EGM was meant to elect the supreme council members for the term 2023-2026.
"The leadership subsequently agreed unanimously for Anthony to stay on as president and Wetrom also retained his deputy president’s seat uncontested.
"The party’s leadership placed wholehearted trust on the duo to steer KDM in facing the upcoming state elections," he said.
