Both Anwar and Shafie capable of leading the country - Christina Liew
Sabah PKR chief Christina Liew has welcomed the proposal to nominate Chief Minister Shafie Apdal as the Pakatan Harapan Plus' alternative prime minister candidate to end the four-month political tussle within the opposition coalition.
She, however, reiterated that Sabah PKR consistently supports PKR president Anwar Ibrahim as the prime minister candidate for Harapan Plus.
Liew (above), who is also Sabah deputy chief minister, said both Anwar and Shafie are qualified and capable of leading the country.
"What I say is merely my expression and feeling, it does not represent the whole of Sabah PKR," she added.
"You asked me how I feel about Shafie to be nominated and eventually become the prime minister. I would tell you as a Sabahan, I welcome this proposal," she said in an online livestream talk yesterday.
"Most Sabahans also welcome this proposal because, after half a century, we now have a man with prime minister quality come out to lead the nation.
"I am extremely happy, I checked with my friends, a few hundred of them, and they are very happy about that," she said.
"I believe Shafie (photo) is very experienced in the administration in both the federal and state levels. He is a man of vision," she said.
Liew believed a Sabahan premier would fully understand the issues facing the state.
"What (will) happen to Anwar? He is the president of PKR and Harapan. He is equally qualified and capable of leading the country.
"The (political) tussle has been going on for three to four months, the emergence of Shafie (being nominated as Harapan Plus premier candidate) is a breath of fresh air," she said.
Liew said Anwar had told her that he was waiting for a final decision from both DAP and Amanah before Harapan Plus works out a way forward on the matter.
She said the Sabah PKR political bureau, which met yesterday, agreed to consistently support Anwar to be the prime minister.
"(On) the issue of Shafie being nominated to be the prime minister, every single member welcomed it," she said.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad's Harapan government which came into power following the 2018 general election collapsed in late February after Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin pulled his party out of the coalition.
Mahathir has been planning a counter-coup against Muhyiddin, who has a three-seat majority in the Dewan Rakyat. However, the Harapan Plus allies could not agree on the prime minister candidate.
On June 27, Mahathir revealed he met with Amanah, DAP and Warisan leaders on June 25 in an informal meeting.
During the meeting, a proposal was made to nominate Shafie as the prime ministerial candidate while Anwar and disputed Bersatu deputy president Mukhriz Mahathir will be deputy prime ministers.
Meanwhile, both DAP and Amanah said the decision should be jointly made at the coalition level.
