Advertisement

Larry Sng quits PKR, may not be the only one

Larry Sng quits PKR, may not be the only one
Larry Sng quits PKR, may not be the only one

Julau MP and PKR Sarawak chief Larry Sng has dropped a bombshell by resigning from the party and all-related posts.

Sarawak PKR Women's chief Agnes Padan said Sng (above) informed party members of this during a political bureau meeting held on Zoom on Friday and reconfirmed the matter with the state leadership yesterday.

Asked if Sng might be joining fellow opposition party Parti Sarawak Bersatu, Agnes said "He said no, but politics is very fluid. I leave that to him."

Agnes said the Sarawak PKR Women would not allow the departure of leaders to break the party or its spirit.

"Keadilan is bigger than just one or two men or women," she said, urging members to be calm and continue the fight for justice and to serve the people.

Sng has yet to respond to Malaysiakini's attempts to contact him.

Malaysiakini is also attempting to contact PKR's Tebrau MP Steven Choong over speculation that he has quit the party as reported by The Star, quoting party sources.

He has yet to reply but Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim, who was previously Johor PKR chief, said the rumours were simply "not true".

Two months ago, Sng has stepped down from his state party's top post, saying that he believes it should be headed by a Dayak leader before next year's state election. However, he was persuaded to retract the decision at the time.

The son of multi-millionaire businessperson-politician Sng Chee Hua, Sng first stood on the Parti Bangsa Dayak Sarawak ticket in the 2001 state election, replacing his father as the Pelagus representative.

He served two terms as BN's Pelagus assemblyperson, from 2001 to 2011, and was appointed an assistant minister under then chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud in 2004.

He later represented Parti Rakyat Sarawak and Sarawak Workers Party before joining PKR after winning Julau as an independent in the 2018 general election.

Yesterday, PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution had said that due to a possible resumption of Parliament, certain parties have stepped up their efforts to convince opposition MPs to jump ship.

"The party is aware that there are moves underway to weaken the strength of the people's representatives, especially opposition MPs, including from PKR.

"It can be related to (threatened action like) income tax issues, police investigations and MACC probes or (incentives) like project offers and GLC positions," Saifuddin said.

He said the move was being made because the current government has lost the support of the majority in Parliament following the withdrawal of support of three Umno MPs, and has now been told by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong that a parliamentary session can be held even while the emergency is in force.

However, soon after Saifuddin's statement, three Amanah elected representative were confirmed as having switched camps to join PKR.

Johor assemblypersons Khairuddin A Rahim (Senggarang), Muhamad Said Jonit (Mahkota), and Faizul Amri Adnan (Serom) made the move, three months after two Selangor assemblypersons made the same decision.

This prompted Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayob to criticise the move.

"Knowing the spirit of camaraderie in Harapan, it is not appropriate for any Harapan component party to take in any allied party's members."

Meanwhile, PKR's Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah said the climate of speculation was an unhealthy one.

"I am still with the party because I believe in reformasi," said the Petaling Jaya MP, who asked supporters and members not to heed rumours because it was "unhealthy and caused witch-hunting".