KOTA KINABALU: Embattled Sabah PKR chief Datuk Dr Sangkar Rasam was conspicuously missing from the billboard for the party’s Hari Raya open house and 25th annual convention here on Sunday (April 21).
All other national and state leaders' pictures were included.
However, a senior party leader said the billboard was done by the members, not the leadership.
Sabah Pakatan Harapan chairman Datuk Christina Liew, who also heads the Kota Kinabalu PKR division, brushed the matter aside.
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"Don’t make so much of it. There is nothing wrong if the members want (to express their views) this way. That’s fine," she said, adding that Sangkar's exclusion did not mean there was turmoil within the party.
She said neither the state party leadership or members consulted each other on the billboard, but the branches and divisions would be advised not to repeat such acts.
Liew said Sangkar's position remained until a decision was made by party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in a few days.
"I believe he will announce the decision very soon, because he met us all yesterday (Saturday, April 20), including Sangkar’s group. He will bring the matter to Kuala Lumpur.
"This will be discussed in the supreme council meeting today, and a decision will be made soon," said Liew, who added that she was also supposed to attend the meeting but chose to stay here as she wanted to attend the Sabah PKR Hari Raya celebration.
On Sangkar’s absence from the event, Liew said he may have opted to attend the party's 25th Annual Convention at the Ideal Convention Centre in Shah Alam.
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Liew, who was also state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, reiterated her stand that there was no break-up within Sabah PKR.
Once the central leadership decides on Sangkar's position, she said they would close ranks and move forward to face a greater challenge in the state election, which was due by October next year.
"We are looking at (this billboard matter) as a non-issue," she said.
Anwar, who was in Sabah for the national-level Madani Raya Aidilfitri open house on Saturday, spent a few hours with state PKR leaders to discuss several issues.
He said they touched on the state leadership, and an announcement will be made soon after consulting all division heads and discussing the matter at the central leadership meeting.
